Mother Dairy’s deputy manager jailed in food adulteration case
21 May 2014 11:18 PM GMT
A Delhi court has put an official of Mother Dairy, a unit of Gujarat based milk firm, behind bars after eight years and slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the company for selling adulterated milk products.
On 3 June, 2006, food inspector Bal Mukund visited a city hotel after a tip-off to probe a business deal that took place between the hotel and Anand Enterprises of Anjali Anand, the proprietor of the firm. The latter was the main supplier of the adulterated milk products to the hotel.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Rao also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Mother Dairy’s deputy manager Dr Kallol Kumar Pramanik.
‘...it shall meet the end of justice if convict Dr Kallol Kumar Pramanik is sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of six months as well as pay fine of Rs 10,000 and M/s Gujarat Cooperation Milk Marketing Federation Ltd is sentenced to pay fine of Rs 1 lakh for the offence punishable under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,’ the court said. ‘Public analyst found that the sample was adulterated because the milk fat was found to be less than the minimum prescribed standard of 25 per cent,’ the food inspector said.
A case was filed by the prosecution against both Pramanik and the federation and also against the hotel’s manager Girish Sharma, hotel’s parent group Hotel Excelsior and Anjali and Harsh Anand of Anand Enterprises for allegedly being involved in the business of producing and selling the said adulterated item.
The court, however, acquitted Girish, Hotel Excelsior, Anjali and Harsh in the case. The court, while convicting the others, said that the offence was ‘serious in nature’ and ‘adulteration of food is a menace’ to public health.
‘The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act has been enacted with an aim of eradicating that social evil and for ensuring purity in the article of food. The aim of the Act is to protect the citizens from those in the guise of respectable trades jeopardise the health and the well being of innocent customers. The adulterators are serious risk to the society,’ the court said.
On 3 June, 2006, food inspector Bal Mukund visited a city hotel after a tip-off to probe a business deal that took place between the hotel and Anand Enterprises of Anjali Anand, the proprietor of the firm. The latter was the main supplier of the adulterated milk products to the hotel.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Rao also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Mother Dairy’s deputy manager Dr Kallol Kumar Pramanik.
‘...it shall meet the end of justice if convict Dr Kallol Kumar Pramanik is sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of six months as well as pay fine of Rs 10,000 and M/s Gujarat Cooperation Milk Marketing Federation Ltd is sentenced to pay fine of Rs 1 lakh for the offence punishable under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,’ the court said. ‘Public analyst found that the sample was adulterated because the milk fat was found to be less than the minimum prescribed standard of 25 per cent,’ the food inspector said.
A case was filed by the prosecution against both Pramanik and the federation and also against the hotel’s manager Girish Sharma, hotel’s parent group Hotel Excelsior and Anjali and Harsh Anand of Anand Enterprises for allegedly being involved in the business of producing and selling the said adulterated item.
The court, however, acquitted Girish, Hotel Excelsior, Anjali and Harsh in the case. The court, while convicting the others, said that the offence was ‘serious in nature’ and ‘adulteration of food is a menace’ to public health.
‘The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act has been enacted with an aim of eradicating that social evil and for ensuring purity in the article of food. The aim of the Act is to protect the citizens from those in the guise of respectable trades jeopardise the health and the well being of innocent customers. The adulterators are serious risk to the society,’ the court said.
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