Full Judgment Text
CRL.A. No. 186 of 2006
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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 186 OF 2006
NAUSHAD ..... APPELLANT
VERSUS
STATE OF U.P. ..... RESPONDENT
O R D E R
1. The appellant herein was apprehended by the Food
th
Inspector on 4 August, 1981, while retailing milk. The
th
Public Analyst in his Report dated 26 August, 1981 opined
that the milk was adulterated inasmuch as that the milk
contained 6.7% non-fatty solids which was below the
prescribed standard of 9%. The appellant was, accordingly,
tried and convicted under Sections 7/16 of the Prevention
of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and sentenced to undergo
rigorous imprisonment for six months and a fine of
Rs.1,000/- and in default of payment of fine to undergo
simple imprisonment for three months. An appeal was
thereafter taken to the Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffar
th
Nagar, who vide his judgment dated 5 November, 1985,
maintained the conviction and sentence. A revision
CRL.A. No. 186 of 2006
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petition filed by the appellant before the High Court was
th
also dismissed on 28 July, 2003. This matter has been
pending in this Court since the year 2004. We observe that
the findings of fact call for no interference. However, in
the light of the fact that the incident happened in the
year 1981 and the appellant has been facing trial or court
proceedings in one forum or the other for years and that
he is as of now 84 years of age, we feel that keeping in
mind the observations of this Court in Haripada Das v.
State of W..B. & Anr. (1998) 9 SCC 678 and Bhagwan Das
Motulal Navalani v. State of Maharashtra (1987) 2 SCC 645
the ends of justice would be met if the sentence is reduced
to that already undergone although we are conscious of the
fact that the appellant has undergone only 15 days of the
sentence.
With this modification, in the orders of the courts
below, the appeal is dismissed.
...........................
J
[HARJIT SINGH BEDI]
...........................
J
[CHANDRAMAULI KR. PRASAD]
NEW DELHI
CRL.A. No. 186 of 2006
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OCTOBER 27, 2010.