HC imposes Rs 1-lakh costs on inspector

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, January 18

In an out-of-the-ordinary judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed Rs 1 lakh costs on an insecticide inspector, while making it clear that the amount was to be paid from his “personal pocket”. The direction came after Justice Deepak Gupta observed that delayed action on the inspector’s part resulted in the accused-petitioners going scot-free in proceedings under the provisions of the Insecticides Act.

Justice Gupta was hearing a petition seeking the quashing of a complaint case dated December 6, 2017, under the Insecticides Act pending adjudication in the Moga Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court. Directions were also sought for quashing the summoning order and all consequential proceedings arising out of it with regard to the petitioners.

Justice Gupta asserted that a perusal of the paper book indicated that the insecticide inspector visited a fertiliser store before drawing a sample of an insecticide. The report of a sample received from an insecticide testing laboratory declared the sample “misbranded”.

Taking up the matter, Justice Gupta asserted that the prosecution launched by the respondent was beyond the period of limitation. As such, the complaint, the impugned summoning order and all consequential proceedings were liable to be quashed.

Before parting with the case, Justice Gupta asserted that the court would like to point out the negligent and lackadaisical attitude of the respondent. The insecticide laboratory sent its report on June 25, 2014, but the sanction was applied on November 28, 2016.

Even if it was assumed that the insecticide inspector initiated his part by writing a letter to the Chief Agriculture Officer on November 9, 2016, as contended by him, it still took him more than two years and four months to write for initiating legal prosecution against the petitioners-accused.

The letter, dated April 7, 2017, vide which the sanctioning authority gave its consent to launch the prosecution, was specifically endorsed to insecticide inspector Taranjit Singh. “Whatever may be the reason, this delay resulted in going of the accused/petitioners scot-free. For the act and conduct of the respondent, he must be burdened with exemplary cost. As such, insecticide inspector Taranjit Singh is burdened with cost of Rs 1,00,000 to be paid from his personal pocket,” he said.

‘Delay helped Accused’

Justice Deepak Gupta observed that delayed action on the inspector’s part resulted in the accused-petitioners going scot-free in proceedings under the provisions of the Insecticides Act

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