S.S.SANDHAWALIA, J.

1. In this appeal preferred by the State of Punjab against the acquittal of the respondent on a charge under Section 16 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, three salient legal issues arise, which can be conveniently formulated in the following terms :-

1. Whether it is permissible to add the percentages of the various constituents of milk disclosed by the Public Analyst and thereafter to deduce a conclusion therefrom about the overall deficiency or otherwise of the milk from its prescribed standards.

2. Whether the Court is entitled to assume a slight or reasonable margin of error in the conclusions recorded by the Public Analyst during the course of analysis of the milk ?

3. Whether a negligible or marginal deviation from the prescribed standard laid down by the Act can be ignored and acquittal recorded on that basis ?

2. For the determination of the aforementioned legal issues, it is not at all necessary to advert to the facts of the present case at the outset. It suffices to mention that the learned trial Court whilst recording the acquittal proceeded on the assumption that the possibility of some marginal error in the course of chemical analy