Directors who resign before the alleged offense cannot be held vicariously liable under food safety laws without specific allegations of their involvement at the time of the offense.

JUDGMENT :

SANDEEP N. BHATT, J.

1. All these petitions are filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (`the Code’ for short) for quashing and setting aside the complaint being Criminal Case No. 2197 of 2014 titled as B.C. Kathiriya Vs. Amitbhai Jentibhai Shah & Ors. Pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate at Junagadh district which is filed under Sections 3 (1)(zz)(1) 26(5), 27(2)(c) and 59(1) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (`FSSAI Act for short) and the summoning order dated 28.7.2015 passed in the same.

2. As the common question of facts and law are involved in all these petitions, at the request of learned advocates for the parties, they are heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

2.1 The facts leading to filing of these petitions, as stated in the petitions, are such that on 30.7.2013, the respondent no. 2- took samples of food item being packaged drinking water (1000 ML Batch No. MP082, Mfg. Dated 1.6.2013 ) maximum retail price Rs.18 only referred to as Code & Serial No. 10/FDA/MU/JND/1/44/2013 and issued form VA (form of notice to the Food Business Operator) with the acknowledgement and sign of the respondent nos.3 and 4; that the respondent no. 3, vide its letter dated 30.7.2013, intimated the Municipal Corporation Junagadh, Gujarat that the respondent no. 2 had purchased the Sahara Q Shop Packaged Drinking Water (1000ML) from his firm and the same was sent to Food Analyst, Gujarat for testing. It was also informed by respondent no. 3 that total number of bottles purchased by respondent no. 2 were 16 in number costing Rs.10 per litre and Rs.160 in total; that the respondent no. 2 sent vide Form VI (memorandum to Food Analyst) the aforesaid articles to the Food Analyst, Gujarat Food & Drugs Laboratory, Vadodara on 31.7.2013 for analysis under Clause A of sub-section (1) of Sections 3 8 and 47 (except 47(5) of the FSSAI Act; further, a copy of memorandum and specimen impression of the seal used to seal the packet of sample was being sent separately via. Regd. A.D. thereafter, the respondent no. 2, vide letter dated 31.7.2013 intimated Municipal Corporation, Junagadh that remaining three parts of sample no. 44/2013 that were collected from respondent no. 3, were sent to Municipal Corporation, Junagadh in terms of Section 47 (1)(c)(ii)(c)(iii) of FSSAI Act; that on 6/7.8.2013, the Food Analyst received the Sample No. 44/2013 from respondent no. 2 for analysis and the same was tested; that the Food Analyst vide Form B sent a report on 17.8.2013 to the Food Officer under FSSAI Act, stating that the sample no. 44/2013 was sub-standard; on 13.9.2013, the Office of Assistant Commissioner Food and Drugs Control Administration, Junagadh, vide their letter informed respondent no. 3 and respondent no. 4 that the sample no. 44/2013 had been declared `sub-standard’; it was further informed to respondent nos.3 and 4 that against the above mentioned report of Food Analyst, Vadodara, he can file an appeal under section 46(4) and to test the sample at referral Laboratory within thirty days of receipt of the notice.

2.2 It is further averred in the petition that on 13.1.2014, the Referral Food Laboratory, Ghaziabad issued Certificate of Analysis for sample 44/2013 in the prescribed Form A stating that the said sample did not conform with the standards laid down under regulation 2.10.8 of FSSAI Regulations 2011 and declared the said sample was unsafe under Section 3 (1)(zz)(i) of FSSAI Act and the same