JUDGMENT

Petitioner challenges Ext.P5 order issued by the District Collector imposing a penalty of Rs.1,000/- under Sections 8,9 and 10 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (for short 'the Act').

2. The main contention urged by the petitioner is that under the Act, a penalty can be levied only by a court of law and not by the District Collector, as Section 7 deals with punishment by imposition of a penalty and Section 11 deals with cognizance by a court of law.

3. No counter affidavit has been filed in the instant case.

However, the learned Government Pleader opposed the contentions in the writ petition and stated that the impugned order indicates only imposition of a fine in contradiction to penalty and therefore, the District Collector is justified in issuing Ext.P5.

4. I have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader.

5. The issue raised for consideration as to whether the quantum imposed under Ext.P5 is a penalty or a fine need not be gone into by this Court, since the said issue has already been decided by the decision of this Court in Sunitha Jaffer v. District Collector (2023 KER 5888). In the said decision, a learned Single Judge of t