In Brief
Vijendra was prosecuted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 for selling adulterated buffalo milk. The Food Inspector's report showed the milk was deficient in fat and solids. All three courts convicted him. However, the Supreme Court acquitted him because: (1) the analyst's report was never actually delivered to him, defeating his statutory right to seek re-testing; (2) the report was sent 19 days after prosecution, not within the prescribed 10 days; (3) the independent witness did not support the Food Inspector's account of how the sample was taken; and (4) without proof of proper sampling technique (stirring), the analyst's findings were unreliable. The Court held that procedural protections for accused persons must be strictly observed.
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