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IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CRIMINAL REVISIONAL JURISDICTION

APPELLATE SIDE

PRESENT:

THE HON’BLE JUSTICE UDAY KUMAR

CRR 4350 OF 2022

PARTHA SARATHI TRIPATHY -VS-

STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.

For the Petitioner : Mr. Debdatta Saha, Mr. Subhamay Dewanji

Mr. Saikat Biswas

For the Opposite Party No.2 : Mr. Pramod Kumar Drolia Ms. Sanjukta Gupta

Argument concluded on : 29.07.2026 Judgment Pronounced on : 29.07.2026

UDAY KUMAR, J.: –

INTRODUCTION

1. A supplementary affidavit has been filed today by the learned counsel

appearing for the petitioner in compliance with the earlier directions of this Court dated June 8th, 2026, to remove doubts and discrepancies regarding the identity of the petitioner, Partha Sarathi Tripathi, whose name appears in the licence under FSS Act number 10012022000264 as Partha Tripathi, being the person in charge of operations as

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evidenced by the document annexed at page 56 of the revisional application. In this regard, the deponent, Partha Sarathi Tripathi, has affirmed on affidavit dated July 7th, 2026, that Partha Tripathi and Partha Sarathi Tripathi are one and the same identical person, and that both names refer to the sole individual operating the enterprise. Accepting the statements made on affidavit as sufficient to dispel any clouds or ambiguity concerning his identity, I take up this matter for

pronouncement of judgment.

2. By this application under Section 401 read with Section 482 of the

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the petitioner has invoked the inherent jurisdiction of this Court seeking quashing of the proceedings relating to C.R. Case No. 384 of 2021 under Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the "FSS Act"), currently pending before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Hooghly at Chinsurah. The challenge is primarily directed against the order dated December 15, 2021, whereby the learned Magistrate took cognizance of the alleged offense punishable under Section 59 of the said Act and directed issuance of process against the petitioner in his

capacity as the Manager of the manufacturing concern.

II. FOUNDATIONAL FACTS

3. The chronological sequence of facts culminating in the filing of the

instant revisional application lies within a narrow compass. On March 11, 2021, at approximately 11:00 A.M., Opposite Party No. 2, discharging functions as the Food Safety Officer, Eastern Railway,

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conducted an inspection of a retail food stall styled as "La-Fasta," situated between Platforms 3 and 4 of the Bandel Railway Station, Hooghly. During the course of such inspection, the said officer purchased eight statutory Tetra Packs, measuring two hundred millilitres each, of Britannia Winkin Cow Thick Lassi (bearing Lot No. 351044FA5, Date of Packaging: 13.02.2021), manufactured by M/s. Schreiber Dynamix Dairies Private Limited. The purchase was executed upon a valid cash consideration of one hundred and sixty rupees

against a formal money receipt.

4. In strict adherence to statutory sampling protocols, one part of the

seized sample was dispatched on March 12, 2021, to the West Bengal Public Health Laboratory (Food & Water Department) for chemical and microbiological analysis. While the department maintains that the actual analysis of the sample was completed within the stipulated timeline, the final analysis report was formally generated, signed, and communicated only on May 20, 2021. This administrative delay in issuing the report was officially attributed by the Food Analyst to severe operational constraints, heavy backlogs, and staff limitations arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The said report ultimately declared the food product to be "unsafe food" under Section 3(1)(zz) of the FSS Act, citing alleged microbiological contamination, specifically the presence of

Escherichia coli (E. coli) and elevated coliform counts.

5. Following the receipt of the report and obtaining administrative

sanction, Opposite Party No.