Principal District and Sessions Court Budgam Monday stayed an order wherein a court had imposed Rs 9 lakh penalty on Khyber Agro Farms and had sentenced its nominee to imprisonment of six months, pending disposal of the main appeal.
Principal District and Session Court Budgam issued the order after the M/S Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited challenged the order of Judicial Magistrate Budgam in an appeal.
Judicial Magistrate Budgam had imposed Rs 9 lakh penalty on the dairy company and sentenced its nominee to imprisonment of six months after laboratory tests found presence of detergent in its toned milk samples.
Judicial Magistrate Budgam, Imtiaz Ahmad Lone, held that M/s Khyber Agro Farms Pvt Ltd, Lethpora Pampore, was found guilty and convicted through its in-charge operation, Muhammad Shafi Ganie of Larson Ganderbal, under sections-- 51 (sub standard), 52 (misbrand) and 59 (unsafe food) of the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006.
The District and Session Court while staying the order of judicial magistrate, held: “Keeping in view perusal and consideration in the light of the law on the subject as interpreted by the authoritative courts from time to time and while hesitating to comment on the merits of the main appeal, a prima facie ground appears to be made out in the opinion of this court for staying the operation of the impugned judgment and order pending disposal of the main appeal.”
“Accordingly, the operation of the impugned judgment dated 4/4/2016 is stayed and order of conviction and sentence is suspended pending disposal of the main appeal,” the court added.
“The applicant/ appellant is admitted to the bail subject to his furnishing the bail and personal bonds to the tune of Rs 50000 each for assuring his 1) punctuality at the proceedings of the main appeal and 2) his abstance from the commission of any offence punishable under the Act,” the court said.
“This order shall however not be construed as a clog on the general powers of the Commissioner of the Food Safety of the state to prohibit in the interest of the public health, the manufacture, shortage, distribution, or sale of any article or food either in the whole of the state or in any area or part thereof or to carry outside survey of the industrial units engaged in the manufacture or processing of food in the state to find out compliance by such units of the standards notified by the food authority for various articles of the food, as the said power is statutory in origin and vests independently with the Commissioner of the Food Safety in terms of provisions of section 30 of the Act,” the court said.
The court however said: “This order shall not also be construed as a halt on the powers of the commissioner of the food safety of the state or his other subordinate competent officers to initiate disciplinary action against any of its officers/ officials in the backdrop of the impugned judgment if they so desire as the said powers already vests with them under service laws in vogue,” the court said.
Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited was represented by Advocate Zaffar Shah.
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