HC relief for fertiliser dealer over sealed substandard products
Bengaluru: In a significant ruling concerning the prosecution of fertiliser dealers, the Karnataka High Court has held that a seller cannot be held criminally liable solely because fertiliser supplied in sealed packages is found to be below prescribed quality standards.
The Dharwad Bench, presided over by Justice T. Venkatesh Naik, quashed criminal proceedings against Bagalkot-based fertiliser supplier Allahbaksh M. Makandar, who had challenged a case pending before the Principal Civil Judge and JMFC court in Bagalkot.
The High Court observed that the complaint lacked specific allegations showing that Makandar had any responsibility for manufacturing the fertiliser or regulating its quality. Since he was only a dealer selling products received in sealed packages, the court held that criminal liability could not be imposed on him merely because laboratory tests found the products to be substandard.
The Bench emphasised that a dealer who neither manufactures a product nor changes its composition cannot automatically be blamed for defects in its quality. It also observed that action under the Fertiliser (Control) Order must be based on the responsibility of the persons concerned, rather than treating every dealer or company official as an accused without establishing their role.
The court said that continuing the prosecution against Makandar, in the absence of specific allegations connecting him to the quality violations, would amount to an abuse of the legal process. It therefore quashed the criminal proceedings against him.
The dispute arose after a fertiliser inspection conducted on October 22, 2021, at Shabaz Agro Centre in Shirur, Bagalkot district. Lakshman S. Kallennavar, the district fertiliser inspector and Joint Director of the Agriculture Department, inspected the establishment and collected samples of liquid multi-micronutrient mixtures and Bio-Max foliar spray tonic fertiliser products.
The samples were sent to a laboratory for analysis. In its report dated November 18, 2021, the laboratory stated that the products did not meet the prescribed standards and were of substandard quality.
Based on the findings, the authorities registered a case against two manufacturing companies and Makandar, who was named as the third accused. The prosecution invoked Sections 3 and 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and Rules 19 and 21 of the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985.
The trial court subsequently took cognisance of the case and initiated proceedings. Makandar then moved the High Court, contending that he could not be prosecuted without specific allegations establishing his role in the alleged quality violations.
The High Court examined the complaint and found that it did not explain how the dealer had caused the fertiliser to be manufactured below standard or how he was responsible for the deficiencies identified in the laboratory report.
The ruling clarifies that the discovery of substandard fertiliser in a dealer’s shop does not, by itself, establish the dealer’s criminal culpability when the product remains sealed and there is no allegation that the seller altered it. The court consequently granted relief to Makandar by quashing the proceedings against him.
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