In Brief
A milk vendor was convicted of food adulteration under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, after his milk sample was found deficient in Milk Solid Non-Fat (MSNF) standards. The appellant argued the deficiency was marginal due to testing delay and that he should have been offered a second analysis at the Central Food Laboratory. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, holding that once standards are legislatively prescribed, they must be strictly observed without exception for marginal variations. The Court clarified that Article 142 cannot override statutory minimum sentences and rejected reliance on overruled High Court precedents permitting leniency for minimal deficiencies in food cases.
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