Penalties
Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 deals with penalties. If any person contravenes any order made under Section 3,-- (a) he shall be punishable,-- (i) in the case of an order made with reference to clause (h) or clause (i) of sub-section (2) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and shall also be liable to fine, and (i The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1955.
1[(1) If any person contravenes any order made under Section 3,--
(a) he shall be punishable,--
(i) in the case of an order made with reference to clause (h) or clause (i) of sub-section (2) of that section, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and shall also be liable to fine, and
(ii) in the case of any other order, with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine:
Provided that the court may, for any adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than three months;
(b) any property in respect of which the order has been contravened shall be forfeited to the Government;
(c) any package, covering or receptacle in which the property is found and any animal, vehicle, vessel or other conveyance used in carrying the property shall, if the court so orders, be forfeited to the Government.
(2) If any person to whom a direction is given under clause (b) of sub-section (4) of section 3 fails to comply with the direction, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine:
Provided that the court may, for any adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than three months.
(2A) If any person convicted of an offence under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) or under sub-section (2) is again convicted of an offence under the same provision, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for the second and for every subsequent offence for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine:
Provided that the court may, for any adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months.
(2B) For the purposes of sub-sections (1), (2) and (2A), the fact that an offence under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) or under sub-section (2) has caused no substantial harm to the general public or to any individual shall be an adequate and special reason for awarding a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than three months or six months, as the case may be.
2[(3) Where a person having been convicted of an offence under sub-section (1) is again convicted convicted of an offence under that sub-section for contravention of an order in respect of an essential commodity, the court by which such person is convicted shall, in addition to any penalty which may be imposed on him under that sub-section, by order, direct that that person shall not carry on any business in that essential commodity for such period, not being less than six months, as may be specified by the Court in the Order.]
Section 7, The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (Act 10 of 1955).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Harendra Nath Chakraborty v. State of West Bengal
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgment order-8.pdf 2008-12-19 (Sinha & Cyriac Joseph JJ.). Tool DATE-CHECK FP on 1991 raid / 1993 trial dates — body New Delhi; December 19, 2008. Essential Commodities Act s.7(1)(a)(ii): statutory minimum sentence for control-order breach; proviso for below-minimum requires recorded special reasons — not lightly invoked for kerosene dealer stock/display defaults. Map EC Act 7.
On this section: s.7(1)(a)(ii) penalties — statutory minimum imprisonment; special-reasons proviso exceptional.
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Sunil Kumar vs State of Haryana
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Economic offences under the Essential Commodities Act, involving unauthorized sale of essential commodities to exploit public, cannot be granted relief under Probation of Offenders Act or Section 360 Cr.P.C. as such crimes are calculated, profit-motivated, and serious threats to social security. Additionally, once a court pronounces judgment and becomes functus officio under Section 362 Cr.P.C., it has no power to reconsider or modify judgment except for clerical errors. A party pursuing repeated petitions challenging the same orders after losing in multiple forums constitutes abuse of judicial process and should be dismissed with costs.
On this section: Petitioner convicted of unauthorised possession and sale of 1370 litres of blue kerosene in violation of this section. Court applied reasoning that economic crimes under this Act are serious offences against public interest and not eligible for easy probation.
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Premnarayan Gupta v. State of Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh)
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Final Order order-6.pdf 2019-01-08 DATE VERIFIED (Sharad Kumar Gupta J.) AFR. Affirms conviction under EC Act s.3/7 for unlicensed paddy dealing above Schedule threshold; discusses s.7(1)(a)(ii) minimum and reduces sentence under special-reasons proviso after 21 years. Map EC Act 7 HC companion.
On this section: s.3/7 unlicensed dealer of scheduled foodgrain — conviction affirmed; s.7(1)(a)(ii) sentence moderated for special reasons.
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Rakesh Kumar vs State of Bihar& ANR.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an Inspector validly lodges an FIR under Section 32(1)(a) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act for offences including sale of expired drugs and violation of drug regulations, and the police conduct proper investigation and submit a charge-sheet, the Magistrate's cognizance order based on prima facie case is legally valid and cannot be quashed under Section 482 CrPC merely because the petitioner claims procedural defects or administrative violations in the parallel licence cancellation proceedings.
On this section: Offence related to violation of essential commodities regulations
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 7 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
- Haryana Targeted Public Distribution System (Licensing and Control) Order ,2022Order 2022
- Madhya Pradesh Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015Order 2015
- Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2015Order 2015
- Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015 (Central Govt)Order 2015
- The Chhattisgarh Rice Procurement (Levy) Order, 2007Order 2007
- The Chhattisgarh Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2004Order 2004
- Public Disltribution System (Control) Order, 2001Order 2001
Questions about Section 7
What have the courts held on Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act?
Harendra Nath Chakraborty v. State of West Bengal (19 Dec 2008) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.7(1)(a)(ii) penalties — statutory minimum imprisonment; special-reasons proviso exceptional. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below, 2 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2008 to 2019.
How do I find court cases under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Essential Commodities Act 7, section 7 Essential Commodities Act, section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act. People searching for it also type essential commodities act 7 1 )( a and essential commodities act 7 punishment. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Harendra Nath Chakraborty v. State of West Bengal (19 Dec 2008).
What should I read with Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 3 (Powers to control production, supply, distribution, etc., of essential commodities), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently D/o Food and PD Sugarcane Control Amendment Order 2000 (2000).
When did Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act come into force?
Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, cited as Essential Commodities Act 7, came into force on 01 Apr 1955, having been enacted on 01 Apr 1955. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 3. Powers to control production, supply, distribution, etc., of essential commodities3328 words
- 12A. Power to try summarily760 words
- 7A. Power of Central Government to recover certain amounts as arrears of land revenue565 words
- 6A. Confiscation of essential commodity530 words
- 2. Definitions416 words
- 6B. Issue of show cause notice before confiscation of food grains, etc273 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.