FIR Online, download legal format. IPC, CPC, CrPC, IP, NI, CP Act

Criminal Law GK - 11 Penalties and Punishments under Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, misleading advertisements, adulterant, unsafe food, operating without licence, Compounding of offences, Summary Trial, Limitation for prosecution, Time limit for Appeal
 

SNo Legal Term/Question Answer
1 What are the provisions relating to penalty As per Section 49 of the Act while adjudging the quantum of penalty under this Chapter, the Adjudicating Officer or the Tribunal, as the case may be, shall have due regard to the following:-

(a) the amount of gain or unfair advantage, wherever quantifiable, made as a result of the contravention,

(b) the Amount of loss caused or likely to cause to any person as a result of the contravention,

(c) the repetitive nature of the contravention,

(d) whether the contravention is without his knowledge, and

(e) any other relevant factor.

2 What is Penalty for selling food not of the nature or substance or quality demanded As per Section 50 Any person who sells to the purchaser's prejudice any food which is not in compliance with the provisions of this Act or the regulations made thereunder, or of the nature or substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding five lakh rupees:

Provided that the persons covered under sub-section (2) of section 31, shall for such non-compliance be liable to a penalty not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees.

3 What is Penalty for selling sub-standard food As per Section 51 any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human consumption which is sub-standard, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to five lakh rupees.
4 What is the Penalty for misbranded food As per Section 52(1) Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human consumption which is misbranded, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to three lakh rupees.

(2) The Adjudicating Officer may issue a direction to the person found guilty of an offence under this section, for taking corrective action to rectify the mistake or such article of food shall be destroyed.

5 What is the Penalty for misleading advertisements As per Section 53 any person who publishes, or is a party to the publication of an advertisement, which-

(a) falsely describes any food; or

(b) is likely to mislead as to the nature or substance or quality of any food or gives false guarantee, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to ten lakh rupees.

(2) In any proceeding the fact that a label or advertisement relating to any article of food in respect of which the contravention is alleged to have been committed contained an accurate statement of the composition of the food shall not preclude the court from finding that the contravention was committed.

6 What is the Penalty for food containing extraneous matter As per Section 54 of the Act any person whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human consumption containing extraneous matter, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees.
7 What is the Penalty for failure to comply with the directions of Food Safety Officer As per Section 55 If a food business operator or importer without reasonable ground, fails to comply with the requirements of this Act or the rules or regulations or orders issued thereunder, as directed by the Food Safety Officer, he shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to two lakh rupees.
8 What is the Penalty for unhygienic or unsanitary processing or manufacturing of food As per Section 56 any person who, whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures or processes any article of food for human consumption under unhygienic or unsanitary conditions, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to one lakh rupees.
9 What is the Penalty for possessing adulterant As per Section 57 of the Act (1) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, if any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, imports or manufactures for sale, or stores, sells or distribute any adulterant shall be liable-

(i) where such adulterant is not injurious to health, to a penalty not exceeding two lakh rupees;

(ii) where such adulterant is injurious to health, to a penalty not exceeding ten lakh rupees.

(2) In a proceeding under sub-section (1), it shall not be a defence that the accused was holding such adulterant on behalf of any other person.

10 What is the Penalty for contraventions for which no specific penalty is provided As per Section 58 whoever contravenes any provisions of this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder, for the contravention of which no penalty has been separately provided in this Chapter, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to two lakh rupees.
11 What is the Punishment for unsafe food As per Section 59 any person who, whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes or imports any article of food for human consumption which is unsafe, shall be punishable,-

(i) where such failure or contravention does not result in injury, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees;

(ii) where such failure or contravention results in a non-grievous injury, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and also with fine which may extend to three lakh rupees;

(iii) where such failure or contravention results in a grievous injury, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six years and also with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees;

(iv) where such failure or contravention results in death, with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and also with fine which shall not be less than ten lakh rupees.

 

 

SNo Legal Term/Question Answer
12 What is Punishment for interfering with seized items As per Section 60 if a person without the permission of the Food Safety Officer, retains, removes or tampers with any food, vehicle, equipment, package or labelling or advertising material or other thing that has been seized under this Act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees.
13 What is Punishment for false information As per Section 61 if a person, in connection with a requirement or direction under this Act, provides any information or produces any document that the person knows is false or misleading, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months and also with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees.
14 What is Punishment for obstructing or impersonating a Food Safety Officer As per Section 62 if a person without reasonable excuse, resists, obstructs, or attempts to obstruct, impersonate, threaten, intimidate or assault a Food Safety Officer in exercising his functions under this Act, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months and also with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.
15 What is Punishment for carrying out a business without licence As per Section 63 if any person or food business operator (except the persons exempted from licensing under sub-section (2) of section 31 of this Act), himself or by any person on his behalf who is required to obtain licence, manufacturers, sells, stores or distributes or imports any article of food without licence, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees.
16 What is the Punishment for subsequent offences As per Section 64 if any person, after having been previously convicted of an offence punishable under this Act subsequently commits and is convicted of the same offence, he shall be liable to-

(i) twice the punishment, which might have been imposed on a first conviction, subject to the punishment being maximum provided for the same offence;

(ii) a further fine on daily basis which may extend up to one lakh rupees, where the offence is a continuing one; and

(iii) his licence shall be cancelled.

(2) The Court may also cause the offender's name and place of residence, the offence and the penalty imposed to be published at the offender's expense in such newspapers or in such other manner as the court may direct and the expenses of such publication shall be deemed to be part of the cost attending the conviction and shall be recoverable in the same manner as a fine.

17 What is Compensation in case injury of death of consumer As per Section 65 (1) Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Chapter, if any person whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures or distributes or sells or imports any article of food causing injury to the consumer or his death, it shall be lawful for the Adjudicating Officer or as the case may be, the court to direct him to pay compensation to the victim or the legal representative of the victim, a sum-

(a) not less than five lakh rupees in case of death;

(b) not exceeding three lakh rupees in case of grievous injury; and

(c) not exceeding one lakh rupees, in all other cases of injury:

Provided that the compensation shall be paid at the earliest and in no case later than six months from the date of occurrence of the incident:

Provided further that in case of death, an interim relief shall be paid to the next of the kin within thirty days of the incident.

(2) Where any person is held guilty of an offence leading to grievous injury or death, the Adjudicating Officer or the court may cause the name and place of residence of the person held guilty, the offence and the penalty imposed to be published at the offender's expense in such newspapers or in such other manner as the Adjudicating Officer or the court may direct and the expenses of such publication shall be deemed to be part of the cost attending the conviction and shall be recoverable in the same manner as a fine.

(3) The Adjudicating Officer or the court may also,-

(a) order for cancellation of licence, re-call of food from market, forfeiture of establishment and property in case of grievous injury or death of consumer;

(b) issue prohibition orders in other cases.

18 What is the provision regarding offences by Companies As per Section 66 (1) Where an offence under this Act which has been committed by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that where a company has different establishments or branches or different units in any establishment or branch, the concerned Head or the person in-charge of such establishment, branch, unit nominated by the company as responsible for food safety shall be liable for contravention in respect of such establishment, branch or unit:

Provided further that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Explanation.-For the purpose of this section,-

(a) company means anybody corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals;

and

(b) director, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

19 What is the Provision regarding Penalty for contravention of provisions of this Act in case of import of articles of food to be in addition to penalties provided under any other Act. As per Section 67 any person who imports any article of food which is in contravention of the provisions of this Act, rules and regulations made thereunder, shall, in addition to any penalty to which he may be liable under the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992) and the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) be also liable under this Act and shall be proceeded against accordingly.

(2) Any such article of food shall be destroyed or returned to the importer, if permitted by the competent authority under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992) or

the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), or any other Act, as the case may be.

20 Who is the adjudicating officer As per section 68 an officer not below the rank of Additional District Magistrate of the district where the alleged offence is committed, shall be notified by the State Government as the Adjudicating Officer for adjudication in the manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
21 Can offences be compounded As per section 69 the Commissioner of Food Safety may, by order, empower the Designated Officer, to accept from petty manufacturers who himself manufacture and sell any article of food, retailers, hawkers, itinerant vendors, temporary stall holders against whom a reasonable belief exists that he has committed an offence or contravention against this Act, payment of a sum of money by way of composition of the offence which such person is suspected to have committed.

(2) On the payment of such sum of money to such officer, the suspected person, if in custody, shall be
discharged and no further proceedings in respect of the offence shall be taken against such person.

(3) The sum of money accepted or agreed to be accepted as composition under sub section (1), shall
not be more than one lakh rupees and due regard shall be made to the guidelines specified in section 49:

 

SNo Legal Term/Question Answer
22 What is the procedure in Tribunal As per Section 71 (1) The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and, subject to the other provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder, the Tribunal shall have powers to regulate its own procedure including the place at which it shall have its sittings.
23 What are the powers of Tribunal As per Section 71 (2) the Tribunal shall have, for the purposes of discharging its functions under this Act, the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:-

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;

(b) requiring the discovery and production of documents or other electronic records;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;

(d) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;

(e) reviewing its decisions;

(f) dismissing an application for default or deciding it ex parte;

(g) any other matter which may be prescribed by the Central Government.

(3) Every proceeding before the Tribunal shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purposes of section 196 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), it shall be deemed to be a civil court for all the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).

(4) The appellant may either appear in person or authorise one or more legal practitioners or any of its officers to represent his case before the Tribunal.

(5) The provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963 (36 of 1963), shall, except as otherwise provided in this Act, apply to an appeal made to the Tribunal.

24 What is the time limit for filing appeal against the order of Tribunal As per Section 71(6) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order of the Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court within sixty days from the date of communication of the decision or order of the Tribunal to him on any question of fact or law arising out of such order:

Provided that the High Court may, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal within the said period, allow it to be filed within a further period not exceeding sixty days.

25 Can Civil Court entertain Petition under Food Safety Act No, as per section 72 no civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of any matter which an Adjudicating Officer or the Tribunal is empowered by or under this Act to determine and no injunction shall be granted by any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
26 What is the provision for summary trial As per Section 73 of the Act notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, all offences not triable by a Special Court, shall be tried in a summary way by a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or by a Metropolitan Magistrate and the provisions of sections 262 to 265 (both inclusive) of the said Code shall, as far as may be, apply to such a trial:

Provided that in the case of any conviction in a summary trial under this section, it shall be lawful for the Magistrate to pass a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year:

Provided further that when at the commencement of, or in the course of, a summary trial under this section, it appears to the Magistrate that the nature of the case is such that a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding one year may have to be passed or that it is, for any other reason, undesirable to try the case summarily, the Magistrate shall after hearing the parties, record an order to that effect and thereafter recall any witness who may have been examined and proceed to hear or rehear the case in the manner provided by the said Code.

27 What is the provision for Special Court As per Section 74 (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), the Central Government or the State Government in their respective jurisdictions may, if consider expedient and necessary in the public interest, for the purposes of the trial of offences relating to grievous injury or death of the consumer for which punishment of imprisonment for more than three years has been prescribed under this Act, constitute, by notification in the Official Gazette, as many Special Courts with the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the High Court as may be necessary for such area or areas and for exercising such jurisdiction, as may be specified in the notification.
28 What is the power of Special Court to suo motu register case As per Section 74(2) a Special Court may, on its own motion, or on an application made by the Public Prosecutor and if it considers it expedient or desirable so to do, sit for any of its proceedings at any place other than its ordinary place of sitting.
29 What is the rule regarding precedence of trial As per Section 74 (3) The trial under this Act of any offence by a Special Court shall have precedence over the trial of any other case against the accused in any other court (not being a Special Court) and shall be concluded in preference to the trial of such other case and accordingly the trial of such other case shall remain in abeyance.
30 What is the provision for appointment of Public Prosecutor and Special Public Prosecutor As per Section 74(4) for every Special Court, the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, shall appoint a person to be the Public Prosecutor and may appoint more than one person to be the Additional Public Prosecutors:

Provided that the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may also appoint for any case or class or group of cases, a Special Public Prosecutor.

(5) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor under this section unless he has been in practice as an Advocate for not less than seven years or has held any post, for a period of not less than seven years, under the Union or a State, requiring special knowledge of law.

31 What is the power to transfer cases to regular court As per Section 75 where, after taking cognizance of any offence, a Special Court is of the opinion that the offence is not triable by it, it shall, notwithstanding that it has no jurisdiction to try such offence, transfer the case for the trial of such offence to any court having jurisdiction under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) and the court to which the case is transferred may proceed with the trial of the offence as if it had taken cognizance of the offence.
32 What is the time limit to file appeal before the High Court 45 days.

As per Section 76 (1) Any person aggrieved by a decision or order of a Special Court may, on payment of such fee as may be prescribed by the Central Government and after depositing the amount, if any, imposed by way of penalty, compensation or damage under this Act, within forty-five days from the date on which the order was served, prefer an appeal to the High Court:

Provided that the High Court may entertain any appeal after the expiry of the said period of forty-five days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause for filing the appeal within the said period.

(2) An appeal preferred under this section shall be disposed of by the High Court by a bench of not less than two judges.

33 What is the time limit for prosecution As per section 77 Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, no court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Act after the expiry of the period of one year from the date of commission of an offence:

Provided that the Commissioner of Food Safety may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, approve prosecution within an extended period of up to three years.

34 What is the power of court to implead manufacturer etc As per Section 78 Where at any time during the trial of any offence under this Act alleged to have been committed by any person, not being the importer, manufacturer, distributor or dealer of any article of food, the court, is satisfied, on the evidence adduced before it, that such importer, manufacturer, distributor or dealer is also concerned with that offence, then the court may, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3) of section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), or in section 71 of this Act, proceed against him as though a prosecution has been instituted under this Act.
35 Have the Magistrate power to enhance punishment As per Section 79 notwithstanding anything contained in section 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), it shall be lawful for the court of ordinary jurisdiction to pass any sentence authorised by this Act, except a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding six years in excess of his powers under the said section.
36 What are the defences which may or may not be allowed in prosecution under this Act As per Section 80(A) Defence relating to publication of advertisements-

(1) In any proceeding for an offence under this Act in relation to the publication of an advertisement, it is a defence for a person to prove that the person carried on the business of publishing or arranging for the publication of advertisements and that the person published or arranged for the publication of the advertisement in question in the ordinary course of that business.

(2) Clause (1) does not apply if the person-

(a) should reasonably have known that the publication of the advertisement was an offence; or

(b) had previously been informed in writing by the relevant authority that publication of such an advertisement would constitute an offence; or

(c) is the food business operator or is otherwise engaged in the conduct of a food business for which the advertisements concerned were published.

(B) Defence of due diligence-

(1) In any proceedings for an offence, it is a defence if it is proved that the person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence by such person or by another person under the person's control.

(2) Without limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of clause (1), a person satisfies those requirements if it is proved-

(a) that the commission of the offence was due to-

(i) an act or default of another person; or

(ii) reliance on information supplied by another person; and
(b) (i) the person carried out all such checks of the food concerned as were reasonable in all the circumstances; or

(ii) it was reasonable in all the circumstances to rely on checks carried out by the person who supplied such food to the person; and

(c) that the person did not import the food into the jurisdiction from another country; and

(d) in the case of an offence involving the sale of food, that-

(i) the person sold the food in the same condition as and when the person purchased it; or

(ii) the person sold the food in a different condition to that in which the person purchased it, but that the difference did not result in any contravention of this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder; and

(e) that the person did not know and had no reason to suspect at the time of commission of the alleged offence that the person's act or omission would constitute an offence under the relevant section.

(3) In sub-clause (a) of clause (2), another person does not include a person who was-

(a) an employee or agent of the defendant; or

(b) in the case of a defendant which is a company, a director, employee or agent of that company.

(4) Without limiting the ways in which a person may satisfy the requirements of clause (1) and item (i) of sub-clause (b) of clause (2), a person may satisfy those requirements by proving that-

(a) in the case of an offence relating to a food business for which a food safety programme is required to be prepared in accordance with the regulations, the person complied with a food safety programme for the food business that complies with the requirements of the regulations, or

(b) in any other case, the person complied with a scheme (for example, a quality assurance programme or an industry code of practice) that was-

(i) designed to manage food safety hazards and based on national or international standards, codes or guidelines designed for that purpose, and

(ii) documented in some manner.

(C) Defence of mistaken and reasonable belief not available-

In any proceedings for an offence under the provisions of this Act, it is no defence that the defendant had a mistaken but reasonable belief as to the facts that constituted the offence.

(D) Defence in respect of handling food-

In proceedings for an offence under section 56, it is a defence if it is proved that the person caused the food to which the offence relates to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of immediately after the food was handled in the manner that was likely to render it unsafe.

(E) Defences of significance of the nature, substance or quality of food-

It shall be no defence in a prosecution for an offence pertaining to the sale of any unsafe or misbranded article of food to allege merely that the food business operator was ignorant of the nature, substance or quality of the food sold by him or that the purchaser having purchased any
article for analysis was not prejudiced by the sale.

37 What is the power to recover penalty As per Section 96 A penalty imposed under this Act, if it is not paid, shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue and the defaulters licence shall be suspended till the penalty is paid.
Home    About Us     Privacy Policy     Disclaimer      Sitemap