Specific averments needed to prosecute company officers for vicarious liability; bare statutory language is insufficient.

Criminal proceedings against a company officer under the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and the Packaged Commodities Rules, 1977 cannot be sustained unless the complaint contains specific averments that the accused was in charge of, and responsible for, the company's day-to-day business at the time of the offence. A bare repetition of the statutory wording is insufficient, and a roving enquiry is impermissible. Where no material particulars distinguish the officer's role from that of another person whose proceedings were already quashed on the same basis, the vicarious-liability allegation fails and the complaint is liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether criminal proceedings could continue against an officer of the company in the absence of specific averments that he was in charge of and responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the company at the time of the alleged offence.

Analysis: The complaint was founded on alleged violations of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 and the Packaged Commodities Rules, 1977. The only averment against the persons concerned was a bare reproduction of the statutory language, without particulars showing who was responsible for the business or day-to-day affairs of the company. The proceedings against the Chairman had already been quashed on the same footing, and no distinction was shown between his case and that of the appellant. In such prosecutions, a roving enquiry is impermissible and the complaint must disclose material particulars making the accused answerable under the vicarious-liability provision.

Conclusion: The proceedings against the appellant could not be sustained and were liable to be quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: In a prosecution against company officers, the complaint must contain specific averments showing that the accused was in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the company's business; absent such particulars, criminal proceedings cannot be maintained.

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