Chapter-7 Offences and Punishment
- Acts constituting offence: If any person does any of the following acts, such a person shall be deemed to have committed the offence:
(a) Any act done to inflict serious harm or create the state of famine by depriving anyone of the access to the essential food,
(b) Any act of capturing, destroying or abusing the food hoarded or collected for the purpose of emergency support,
(c) Creating obstruction in the emergency food support distribution,
(d) Creating obstruction, in an organized or unorganized manner, in the transport, supplies, distribution and marketing of the basic food,
(e) Rendering one homeless in such a manner as to deprive him or her of the basis of livelihood,
(f) Not to distribute the food to be distributed pursuant to Section 7 to the targeted class or backward class,
(g) Doing any other act contrary to this Act or the rules framed under this Act.
- Investigation and filing case: (1) The investigation of the cases under this Act shall be made by the Inspection Officer referred to in Section 44.
(2) The Inspection Officer referred to in sub-section (1) shall, upon making the investigation of the case, file the case in the concerned District Court within thirty-five days from the date of receiving the complaint.
(3) While filing the case pursuant to sub-section (2), the Inspection Officer shall obtain opinion of the government attorney.
- Punishment: A person who commits the offence referred to in Section 40 shall be liable to the following punishment, on the basis of the gravity of the offence:
(a) If the offence referred to in clause (a) is committed, or caused to be committed, imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years and fine not exceeding one million rupees,
(b) If the offence referred to in clause (b), (c) or (d) is committed, or caused to be committed, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and fine not exceeding three hundred thousand rupees,
(c) If the offence referred to in clause (e) is committed, or caused to be committed, imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years and fine not exceeding five hundred thousand rupees,
(d) If the offence referred to in clauses (f) and (g) is committed, imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year and fine not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees,
- Compensation: (1) If any kind of harm and injury is caused to any person from the commission of any offence under this Act, an application may be made to the case trying authority to get compensation paid for such harm and injury.
(2) The standards relating to the compensation to be provided pursuant to sub-section (1) shall be as prescribed.