In Brief
Hindustan Unilever Ltd was one of six accused charged under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act for allegedly selling adulterated ice cream. One co-accused sought re-analysis of a sample; the Central Food Laboratory found it deteriorated. Hindustan Unilever's plea to quash the complaint was rejected by the High Court on grounds that it had not independently exercised the re-analysis right. The Supreme Court held that when any co-accused exercises the re-analysis right under Section 13(2) of the PFA Act, the Director's certificate supersedes the original analyst's report and benefits all co-accused. The Court allowed the appeal, finding the High Court's approach erroneous and impractical given the statute provides only three samples.
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