Whoever uses any weight or measure or makes any numeration otherwise than in accordance with the standards of weight or measure or the standards of numeration, as the case may be, established by or under this Act, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both, and for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years and also with fine.
Section 51 - Penalty for contravention of section 18
Whoever tampers with, or alters, in any way, any reference standard, secondary standard, or working standard except where such alteration is made for the correction of any error noticed therein on verification, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.
Section 52 - Penalty for contravention of section 22
Except where any weight or measure is made or manufactured, with the permission of the Central Government, exclusively for export, every person who makes or manufactures any weight or measure which does not conform to the standards of weight or measure established by or under this Act, shall, where such offence is not punishable under any other law relating to weights and measures for the time being in force, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both, and, for the second or subsequent offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and also with fine.
Section 53 - Penalty for contravention of section 23
Except where any weight or measure is made or manufactured, with the permission of the Central Government, exclusively for export, every person who makes or manufactures any weight or measure which bears thereon any inscription of weight, measure or number which does not conform to the standards of weight or measure or numeration established by or under this Act, shall, where such offence is not punishable under any other law relating to weights and measures for the time being in force, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and also with fine.
Section 54 - Penalty for contravention of section 29
Whoever obstructs the Director or any person authorised to exercise the powers or discharge the functions of the Director (hereafter, in this Part, referred to as the "authorised officer") in the exercise of his powers or discharge of his functions as such Director or authorised officer, or with intent to prevent or deter the Director or such authorised officer from exercising his powers or discharging his functions, or in consequence of any thing done or attempted to be done by the Director or such authorised officer in the lawful exercise of his powers or discharge of his functions as such, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years.
Section 55 - Penalty for contravention of section 32
Whoever in the course of any inter-State trade or commerce, makes any transaction, deal or contract in contravention of the provisions of section 32 shall be punished with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and also with fine.
Section 56 - Penalty for contravention of section 33
Whoever in the course of any inter-State trade or commerce, contravenes the provisions of section 33 shall be punished with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and also with fine.
Section 57 - Penalty for contravention of section 34
Whoever, in the course of any inter-State trade or commerce,
(i) sells, delivers, or causes to be sold or delivered , to the purchaser any quantity or number of any article or thing, less than the quantity or number contracted for or paid for; or
(ii) renders any service by weight, measure or number, less than the service contracted for or paid for; or
(iii) demands, or causes to be demanded, or receives, or causes to be received, while buying any article or thing, any quantity or number of goods in excess of the quantity or number contracted for or paid for; or
(iv) obtains any service in excess of the service contracted for or paid for,
shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 58 - Penalty for contravention of section 35
Whoever, being required by or under this Act so to do, without any reasonable excuse, omits or fails to maintain any record or register, or being required by the Director or the authorised officer, to produce any record or register for his inspection, omits or fails, without any reasonable excuse, so to do, shall be punished with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence , with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with fine.
Section 59 - Penalty for contravention of section 36
Whoever, being required by section 36 to submit the model of any weight or measure for approval, omits, or fails, without any reasonable excuse, so to do, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 60 - Penalty for manufacture of weights or measures unless approval of model is in force
(1) Whoever makes or. manufactures any weight or measure which is, or is intended to be, sold, distributed, delivered or otherwise transferred in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, shall, unless a certificate of approval of the model of such weight or measure granted under section 36 is in force, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
(2) Whoever, without any reasonable excuse, manufactures any weight or measure in accordance with an approved model with any material other than the material approved or recommended by the prescribed authority, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 61 - Penalty for contravention of section 38
Whoever makes or manufactures any weight or measure without complying with the requirements of section 38 shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 62 - Penalty for sale, etc., of unverified weights or measures in the course of inter-State trade or commerce
Whoever, in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, sells, distributes, delivers or otherwise transfers any weight or measure which does not conform to the standards of weight or measure established by or under this Act or which has not been duly verified under any other law relating to weights and measures for the time being in force, shall be punished with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and also with fine.
Section 63 - Penalty for contravention of section 39
Whoever, in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, sells, distributes, delivers or otherwise transfers, or causes to be sold, distributed, delivered or otherwise transferred any commodity in a packaged form which does not conform to the provisions of this Act or any rule made thereunder , shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 64 - Penalty for contravention of section 47
Whoever exports or imports any weight or measure without being registered under this Act shall be punished with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with fine.
Section 65 - Penalty for contravention of section 48
Every person who exports any weight or measure or commodity in packaged form which does not conform to the standards of weight or measure established by or under this Act, shall, except where such export has been made with the previous approval of the Central Government, be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 66 - Penalty for contravention of section 49
Whoever contravenes, without any reasonable excuse, the provisions of section 49, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine.
Section 67 - Penalty where no specific penalty is provided
Whoever contravenes any provisions of this Act for the contravention of which no punishment has been separately provided in any of the provisions of this Act, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees.
Section 68 - Presumption to be made in certain cases
(1) If any person, in the course of inter- State trade or commerce, uses, or causes to be used, sells distributes, delivers or otherwise transfers, or causes to be sold, distributed, delivered or otherwise transferred, any false or unverified weight or measure, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that he had done so with the knowledge that the weight or measure was a false or unverified weight or measure.
(2) If any person makes or manufactures or has in his possession, custody or control any false or unverified weight or measure in such circumstances as to indicate that such weight or measure is likely to be used in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such false or unverified weight or measure was made, manufactured, possessed, held or controlled by such person with the knowledge that the same would be, or is intended to be, used in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.
Section 67 - Penalty for personation of officials
Whoever personates, in any way, the Director, or any authorised officer, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years.
Section 70 - Penalty for giving false information or false returns
(1) Whoever gives information to the Director or the authorised officer which he may require or ask for in the course of his duty and which such person either knows or has reason to believe to be false shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
(2) Whoever, being required by or under this Act so to do, submits a return which is false in material particulars, shall be punished with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, and, for the second or subsequent offence, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and also with fine.
Section 71 - Vexatious actions
(1) An authorised officer who knows that there are no reasonable grounds for so doing, and yet,
(a) searches, or causes to be searched, any house, conveyance or place;or
(b) searches any person;or
(c) seizes any weight, measure or other movable property,
shall, for every such offence, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.
(2) If a local Inspector, as defined in section 40,
(a) without any reasonable cause verifies any weight or measure of first category, within the meaning of section 41,
(b) without any reasonable cause obliterates any stamp on any such weight or measure,
in contravention of the provisions of the first proviso to section 42, he shall, for every such offence be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.
Section 72 - Cognizance of offences, etc.
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),-
1[(a) no court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act except upon a complaint, in writing, made by-
(i) the Director;
(ii) any other authorised officer;
(iii) any person aggrieved; or
(iv) a recognised consumer association whether the person aggrieved is a member of such association or not.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this clause "recognised consumer association" means a voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) or any other law for the time being in force;]
(b) no court inferior to that a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence under this Act;
(c) an offence punishable under section 50, section 52, section 53, section 56, section 58, section 60, section 61, section 63, section 64, section 65, or section 66, may be tried summarily by a Magistrate and no sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding one year shall be passed in the case of any conviction for an offence which is summarily tried under this section.
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1. Substituted by Act 75 of 1986, sec. 2 (w.e.f. 1-7-1987).
Section 73 - Compounding of offences
(1) Any offence punishable under section 50, section 55, section 56, section 57, section 58, section 59, section 60, section 63, section 64, section 65, section 66, or section 67 may, either before or after the institution of the prosecution , be compounded by the Director or such other officer as may be specially authorised by him in this behalf, on payment for credit to the Government of such sum as the Director or such other officer may specify:
Provided that such sum shall not, in any case, exceed the maximum amount of the fine which may be imposed under this Act for the offence so compounded.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to a person who commits the same or similar offence within a period of three years from the date on which the first offence, committed by him, was compounded.
Explanation.For the purposes of this sub-section, any second or subsequent offence committed after the expiry of a period of three years from the date on which the offence was previously compounded, shall be deemed to be a first offence.
(3) Where an offence has been compounded under sub-section (1), no proceeding or further proceeding, as the case may be, shall be taken against the offender in respect of the offence so compounded, and the offender, if in custody, shall be discharged forthwith.
(4) No offence under this Act shall be compounded except as provided by this section.
Section 74 - Offences by companies and power of court to publish name, place of business, etc., of companies convicted
(1) If an offence under this Act is committed by a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to the company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:
Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to punishment if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to the neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(3) Where any company is convicted under this Act for contravention of any of the provisions thereof, it shall be competent for the court convicting the company to cause the name and place of business of the company, nature of the contravention, the fact that the company has been so convicted and such other particulars as the court may consider to be appropriate in the circumstances of the case, to be published at the expense of the company in such newspapers or in such other manner as the court may direct.
(4) No publication under sub-section (3) shall be made until the period for preferring an appeal against the orders of the court has expired without any appeal having been preferred, or such an appeal, having been preferred, has been disposed of.
(5) The expenses of any publication under sub-section (3) shall be recoverable from the company as if it were a fine imposed by the court.
Explanation.For the purposes of this section
(a) " company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
(b) " director", in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
Section 75 - Provisions of Indian Penal Code not to apply to any offence punishable under this Act
The provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860), in so far as such provisions relate to offences with regard to weights and measures, shall not apply to any offence which is punishable under this Act.