O R D E R

The petitioners are accused Nos.5 to 8 in C.C.Nos.301/2019 &

300/2019, respectively, on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Thamarassery. Those cases were instituted upon the complaints filed by Food Safety Officer, Thiruvampady Circle, alleging the commission of offences punishable under Sections 26 (1)(2)(i), 38(1)(a)(i), 59(i) & 3(1)(zz)(x) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (in short, ‘Act’).

2. The allegation in the aforesaid complaints is that the chilly whole samples, which the Food Safety Officer, Mobile Vigilance Squad, Kozhikode, collected from the retail shop of the firm by name “M/s Niwa Agro Foods”, Alakkaparamba, Manassery, which the accused Nos.1 to 4 represented, were found unsafe as per Section 3 (1)(zz)(x) of the Act due to the presence of yeast and mould exceeding the permissible limits. It is the further allegation that the above samples did not conform to the standards prescribed for chillies and capsicum falling under Regulation 2.9.3.1 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, and therefore, were of substandard quality as per (1)(zx) of the Act.

3. As far as the pe