1. This is a revision arising from a conviction under Section 7 read with Section 16 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act in which the petitioner was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year and a fine of Rs. 2,000/-. The revision has come to this Court after the learned Additional Sessions Judge has held that the appeal filed by the petitioner was barred by time and accordingly no relief was given by the Additional Sessions Judge. In order to appreciate the question of limitation it is necessary to deal with the history of the case because, as will be apparent, this was not the first time the petitioner had come in appeal to the Additional Sessions Judge.

2. The petitioner was initially convicted by Shri J. D. Kapur, Metropolitan Magistrate and on appeal which was Crl. A. 17 of 1976 before Shri P. K. Bahri, Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi, it was urged that there had been non-compliance with the provisions requiring the accused to be heard on the question of sentence. The decision of the Supreme Court in Santa Singh v. The State of Punjab, AIR 1976 SC 2386 : (1976 Cri LJ 1875), was referred and this contention was accepted by the learned Additional Sessions J