Retail Shop Owner Not Vicariously Liable For Substandard Product of Company : Karnataka High Court

Karnataka High Court quashed proceedings against two retail shop owners under the Insecticides Act, 1968 ruling that Petitioners (shop owners) cannot be held vicariously liable and be penalized for the product they are not involved in.

The petitioners were charged under Section 3(k), 13, 17, and 29 of the Insecticides Act, 1968 after a Jurisdictional Agricultural Officer found substandard insecticide in their store, therefore, the court pointed out that the liability applies only to manufacturers, not retailers.

Stating that, without mens rea which is guilty mind is an abuse of the legal process and the court quashed the case.