In Brief
The Supreme Court addressed whether short delivery of petroleum products at retail outlets through manipulated dispensing machines could be prosecuted under both the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the Indian Penal Code. The Court held that while the Legal Metrology Act exclusively governs offences relating to non-standard weights and measures (Sections 265, 267 IPC), other distinct IPC offences—such as cheating, forgery, forgery with intent to deceive, and criminal conspiracy—remain prosecutable under the IPC even involving the same facts, as these involve different ingredients and mens rea requirements not covered by the Act. The Court partly allowed the appeals, quashing charges under Sections 265 and 267 IPC but upholding prosecution for other IPC offences."
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