Thane, Jun 20 A sessions court in Thane has acquitted two employees of a bakery who were booked on charges of possessing and selling banned gutkha, holding that the prosecution failed to prove key ingredients of the offences and did not follow the mandatory legal procedure.
Additional Sessions Judge R.M. Rathod, in a judgment delivered on June 19, acquitted Vahajuddin Mohammad Yunus Ansari (30) and Abdulla alias Mohammad Afan Abdulrehman Ansari (24) in a case registered by Mira Road police in September 2023.
The prosecution said the police had seized banned gutkha products valued at Rs 30,632 after raiding a bakery in the Mira Road area.
A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA).
"The prosecution has not brought on record any such substance which was administered to any person by the accused person with the intent to cause hurt or knowing it to be likely he would thereby cause hurt.
"The prosecution has not examined an independent witness who complained that such a kind of food or drink was sold to him or was offered or exposed for sale," the court stated.
On the charge under IPC section 188, the court held that the Food Safety Officer of Thane was required to file a complaint separately, and not through the police.
"The police cannot take any cognisance on the basis of that complaint to attract Section 188," the court ruled.
