The Essential Commodities Act, 1955
10-C PRESUMPTION OF CULPABLE MENTAL STATE.
1 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 the 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. 67 ]
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1. Ins. by Act 30 of 1974, sec. 8 (w.r.e.f. 22-6-1974).