Company to pay Rs 9 lakh fine, sentenced to six months in jail
A court in Budgam today convicted milk processing company Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited of selling misbranded, sub-standard and unsafe milk products in Kashmir.
While convicting the company under Section 51, 52 and 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Court of Munsif, Budgam, Imtiyaz Ahmad imposed a penalty of Rs 9 lakh on the Khyber Agro Farms.
The court also sentenced six month imprisonment to the accused company through nominated person.
The court had taken cognisance of the complaint against the Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited, Lethpora, Pampore, on March 23 in 2014.
In the complaint, the company was accused of selling sub-standard and misbranded food articles prohibited under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
“The prosecution has succeeded in establishing a case beyond reasonable doubt against the company for manufacturing milk products with detergent and declared unsafe, misbranded and sub-standard by the referral laboratory in Kolkata as well as during the trial of the matter,” the court observed in its over 200-page judgment today.
“Nothing substantive, either oral or by way of documentary evidence by and on behalf of the Khyber Agro Farms Pvt Ltd has come on the record to nullify the opinion of the referral laboratory in Kolkata, nor the company has been able to dilute the opinion tendered in this behalf,” it said.
Therefore, the accused company, MS Khyber Agro Farms Private Limited, is held guilty and is convicted through its in-charge operations/nominated person namely Mohammad Shafi Ganai and is accordingly convicted for Sections 51, 52 and 59 of the Food Safety Standards Act – 2006, the court said.
The court has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh against the company under Section 51 for selling sub-standard food, Rs 3 lakh as penalty for selling misbranded food article under Section 52 and Rs 1 lakh and six months imprisonment to the accused company through nominated person for selling unsafe food products.
The court has also ordered removal of the Food Analyst, Kashmir, Hamidullah Dar.
“Let displeasure of the court be conveyed and reflected in his service records and the court lacks trust in him and justice has been all the time casualty at his hands. Person like Hamidullah Dar is more dangerous than a fatal disease like cancer for the entire nation,” the court observed in its orders.
