1. - By the instant Criminal Misc. Petition under Section 482 Cr.P.C., the accused petitioner seek quashing of the proceedings in Criminal Case No. 132/2000 State v. M/s Laxmi Krishi Seva Kendra and Ors. pending in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Bar, district Pali (for short 'the trial Court' hereinafter) for the offence under Section 29(i)(a) of the Insecticides Act, 1968 (for short 'the Act' hereinafter).

2. I have hared learned Counsel for the parties.

3. It is contended by learned Counsel for the petitioners that a complaint came to be filed before the trial Court for the offence under Section 29(i)(a) of the Act on the ground that the complainant inspected the shop of M/s Laxmi Krishi Seva Kendra on 28.10.1999 and took the sample of two insecticides namely SPARK and HOSTATHION. The manufacturing dates of the samples taken were December 1998 and April 1999 and expiry date of the same were November 2000 and March 2001 respectively. The sample so taken were sent for chemical analysis to the Central Insecticides Laboratory, Faridabad on 06.11.1999 which was received by the Regional Pesticides Testing Laboratory on 22.11.1999 and the sample was analyzed on 07.02.2000 as per the report issued by Regional Pesticides Testing Laboratory as available on record Section 24 of the Act deals with report of Insecticide Analysis which reads as under:

"24. Report of Insecticide Analyst.-(1) The Insecticide Analysis to whom a sample of any insecticide has been submitted for test or analysis under Sub-section (6) of Section 22, shall within a period of thirty days, deliver to the Insecticide Inspector submitting it a signed report in duplicate in the prescribed form.

(2) The Insecticide Inspector on receipt thereof shall deliver one copy of the report to the person from whom the sample was taken and shall retain the other copy for use in any prosecution in respect of the sample.

(3) Any documents purporting to be a report signed by an Insecticide Analyst shall be evidence of the facts stated therein, and such evidence shall be conclusive unless the person from whom the sample was taken has within twenty-eight days of the receipt of a copy of the report notified in writing the Insecticide Inspector or the Court before which any proceedings in respect of the sample are pending that he intends to adduce evidence in controversion of the report.

(4) Unless the sample has already been tested or analysed in the Central Insecticides Laboratory, where a person has under Sub-section (3) notified his intention of adducing evidence in controversion of the Insecticide Inspector Analyst's report may, of its own motion or in its discretion at the request either of the complainant or of the accused, cause the sample of the Insecticide produced before the Magistrate under Sub-section (6) of Section 22 to be sent for test or analysis to the said laboratory, which shall, within a period of thirty days, which shall make the test or analysis and report in writing signed by, or under the authority of, the Director of the Central Insecticide Laboratory the result thereof, and such report shall be conclusive evidence of the facts stated therein.

(5) The cost of a test or analysis made by the Central Insecticides Laboratory under Sub-section (4) shall be paid by the complainant or the accused, as the Court shall direct."

4. According to learned Counsel for the petitioner as per Section 24(1) of the Act, the Insecticide Analyst to whom a sample of any insecticide has been submitted for test or analysis under Sub-section (6) of Section 22, shall, within a period of 30 days, deliver to the Insecticide Inspector submitting it a signed report in duplicate in the prescribed form. The period of 30 days came to be substituted by Act 23 of 2000 w.e.f. 05.08.2000 and prior to that the period was 60 days. In the instant case, the occurrence is prior to 05.08.2000 and therefore, within 60 days from the date of receipt of sample, the report was to be submitted. In the ins