Judgment

BACHAWAT, J. :- M/s. Golden Tabacco Co. Private Ltd., have their head office and main factory at Bombay where they manufacture cigarettes. The appellant is the occupier-cum-manager of the company s premises at Eluru in Andhra Pradesh where sun-cured country tabacco purchased from the local producers is collected, processed and stored and then transported to the company s factory at Bombay. The prosecution case is that the aforesaid premises are a factory. The appellant was prosecuted and tried for contravention of Section 6 (1) of the Factories Act 1946 and Rules 3 and 5 (3) of the Andhra Pradesh Factory Rules 1950 for operating the factory without obtaining a licence from the Chief Inspector of Factories and his previous permission approving the plans of the building. The appellant s defence was that the premises did not constitute a factory and it was not necessary for him to obtain the licence or permission. The 2nd Addl. Munsif Magistrate, Eluru, accepted the defence contention and acquitted the appellant. According to the Magistrate the prosecution failed to establish that the premises were a factory or that any manufacturing process was carried on or that any worker w