In Brief
Indofil Industries (appellants), manufacturers of the insecticide 'Gromate', challenged criminal prosecution for selling a misbranded product. The State Insecticide Analyst's report declared the product misbranded; the third sample was later sent to the Central Insecticide Laboratory (CIL) at the dealer's request before formal complaint was filed. The Supreme Court held that an Insecticide Inspector may send samples to the CIL on request even before complaint institution. Where the CIL report is already obtained and becomes part of the prosecution record, the accused cannot demand fresh analysis under Section 24(4) of the Insecticides Act. That right arises only if the complaint is based solely on the State Analyst's report and no CIL testing has occurred. The appeal was dismissed."
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.