Advocates appeared:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. S.Nandakumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. R.Satish Kumar, Adv. Ms. V.Susheatha, Adv. Ms. Deepika Nandakumar, Adv. Mr. Aakash Elango, Adv. Ms. Sandhya Dutt, Adv. Mr. Mohit Kumar Gupta, Adv. Mr. P.V. Yogeswaran, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Sabarish Subramanian, AOR

How to apply the Probation of Offenders Act to offences under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act in light of Section 20AA and the repeal by the Food Safety and Standards Act? What is the scope of mollification of punishment when a repeal and savings clause protects penalties under the repealed Act? What are the circumstances under which the court can convert imprisonment to a fine (mollification) in cases involving PoFA Act offences after repeal?

Key Points: - The Probation Act cannot be applied to offences under PoFA Act for periods between 1976 (enactment of Section 20AA) and 2006 (repeal by FSS Act) as per the judgment. (!) (!) - The repeal and savings clause of the FSS Act (Section 97) protects penalties incurred under the PoFA Act, preventing mollification of sentence where such penalties are saved. (!) (!) (!) (!) - The Court holds that mollification of sentence cannot be granted when a repeal and savings clause expressly saves a penalty incurred under the repealed statute. (!) (!) - Lead appeal partly allowed; conviction affirmed but sentence converted to fines due to discrepancies in analysis reports and discretionary considerations. (!) (!) (!) - In lead appeal, curd fat-content discrepancy between Public Analyst and Central Food Laboratory led to partial relief by converting imprisonment to fine. (!) (!) (!) - Connected appeal partly allowed; follow certain precedents (A.K. Sarkar & Co. v. State of W.B.) but not T. Barai reasoning, due to repeal/savings context. (!) (!) (!) - Final relief: imprisonment converted to fines for Nagarajan, Selvaraj, and Naresh Chandra, with deadlines to pay fines. (!) - The decision emphasizes literal construction of statutes, with limited resort to beneficial construction where repeal/savings clauses govern. (!) (!)

How to apply the Probation of Offenders Act to offences under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act in light of Section 20AA and the repeal by the Food Safety and Standards Act?

What is the scope of mollification of punishment when a repeal and savings clause protects penalties under the repealed Act?

What are the circumstances under which the court can convert imprisonment to a fine (mollification) in cases involving PoFA Act offences after repeal?