SHEORATAN AGARWAL & ANOTHER vs STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

The Supreme Court held that under Section 10 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, individuals in charge of a company can be prosecuted separately for violations committed by the company without the necessity of prosecuting the company itself. The Court clarified that the statute does not impose a requirement for joint prosecution, thus affirming the maintainability of the prosecutions against the appellants, who were the Managing Director and Production Manager of the company. The appeals were dismissed, upholding the High Court's decision.