In Brief
A pan masala vendor was convicted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act for selling adulterated food. The Supreme Court allowed his appeal, holding that a vendor who purchases sealed, packaged food from a licensed manufacturer with proper written warranty and sells it unchanged is entitled to a statutory defence. The Court found that the manufacturer's warranty, whether in a separate form or embedded in the invoice, satisfied legal requirements, protecting the vendor from criminal liability even when the product later proved adulterated.
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