A sessions court refused to let off the accused, Gautam Khandagle, on a bond of good behaviour and stated he knew the difference between right and wrong and yet he chose to store gutkha
Photo for representational purpose
A 34-year-old Malad-based shopkeeper was sentenced to six months jail and fined Rs 50,000 after gutkha worth Rs 341 was recovered from his shop.
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Storage and sale of gutkha has been banned in Maharashtra.
A sessions court refused to let off the accused, Gautam Khandagle, on a bond of good behaviour and stated he knew the difference between right and wrong and yet he chose to store gutkha.
“This act was committed without taking care of health of the people in general and for earning money. It is against the public welfare and public policy,” said judge DD Khoche, as per a report in The Times of India.
“Notification of the Food Commissioner proves that the commissioner had prohibited the storage of the gutkha in the state of Maharashtra,” added the court.
While the maximum fine was Rs two lakh, the court said the accused was not a distributor or a big seller of gutkha and was found storing only a small quantity, hence, the full fine cannot be imposed.
“Therefore, the punishment prescribing penalty cannot be fully saddled on him but it is proper to take reasonable approach (after) taking into consideration his standard of living,” the court stated.
The prosecution had submitted that on April 9, 2014, cops received information that gutkha was being illegally sold at Jyoti General Stores and Pan Shop at Malvani, Malad (West).
When police raided the shop, they found a plastic bag hooked to the table of the cash counter. It contained 152 packets of gutkha of various brands.
Khandagle had denied the allegations and said that he was not the owner of the shop. He also claimed that he was selling vegetables on the footpath in front of the shop.
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