Act Number: 10

Act Name: The Essential Commodities Act, 1955

Year: 1955

Enactment Date: 1955-04-01

Long Title: An Act to provide, in the interest of the general public, for the control of the production, supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce, in certain commodities.

Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

Department: Department of Consumer Affairs

Section 10C: Presumption of culpable mental state.
    (1) In any prosecution for any offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, the court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged as an offence in that prosecution.
     Explanation.--In this section, "culpable mental state" includes intention, motive, knowledge of a fact and the belief in, or reason to believe, a fact.
     (2) For the purposes of this section, a fact is said to be proved only when the court believes it to exist beyond reasonable doubt and not merely when its existence is established by a preponderance of probability.]
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