Section 19 of DCA : Section 19: Pleas

Explanation using Example

Imagine a pharmacy owner, Mr. Gupta, sells a cough syrup to a customer. Later, it's discovered that the syrup is adulterated and does not meet the quality standards set by the law. A legal action is initiated against Mr. Gupta under The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Mr. Gupta cannot claim ignorance about the syrup's quality as a defense, according to Section 19(1). However, if he can prove that the adulteration was due to an innocuous substance added for legitimate reasons, as per Section 19(2)(a), or a substance unavoidably intermixed during manufacturing as per Section 19(2)(b), he might not be held liable, provided he wasn't aware of the intermixture at the time of sale.

Additionally, if Mr. Gupta can demonstrate that he purchased the syrup from a licensed source, was unaware of the adulteration, and maintained the syrup properly as per Section 19(3), he may not be found guilty of the contravention of Section 18.