69. Power to compound offences. - (1) The Commissioner of Food Safety may, by order, empower the Designated Officer, to accept from petty manufacturers who himself manufacture and sell any article of food, retailers, hawkers, itinerant vendors, temporary stall holders against whom a reasonable belief exists that he has committed an offence or contravention against this Act, payment of a sum of money by way of composition of the offence which such person is suspected to have committed.
(2) On the payment of such sum of money to such officer, the suspected person, if in custody, shall be discharged and no further proceedings in respect of the offence shall be taken against such person.
(3) The sum of money accepted or agreed to be accepted as composition under sub- section (1), shall not be more than one lakh rupees and due regard shall be made to the guidelines specified in section 49:
Provided that no offence, for which punishment of imprisonment has been prescribed under this Act, shall be compounded.
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