Penalty for watering etc.

(1) Any owner of cotton ginning or cotton pressing factory who knowingly or having reason to believe that any cotton is watered or contains seed in excess of the prescribed proportion or contains any foreign substance or cotton waste, gins or presses or allows such cotton to be ginned or pressed in such factory shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees. (2) Any person who knowingly waters or wets any cotton or mixes seed or foreign substance or cotton waste with any cotton or abets or knowingly allows or connives at such watering, wetting or mixing of cotton, which is ginned and which is being or is intended to pressed in a cotton pressing factory shall, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both. Explanation- For the purposes of this section, cotton shall be deemed to watered or, wetted if such cotton- (a) is knowingly watered or wetted; (b) contains moisture in excess of the normal amount, the normal amount being the amount of moisture that such cotton may reasonably be expected to contain regard being had to the place or places at or to which and the time or times of the year in which such cotton has been picked, collected, stored, conveyed, ginned or pressed; (c) is duly certified by the prescribed authority to contain caked material or patches due to deliberate watering. (3) A certificate given by an officer authorised in this behalf by the State Government as to the normal amount of moisture that a given quantity of cotton may contain and the amount of moisture that is actually contains, shall be evidence of such matters, until the contrary is proved, and if the amount of moisture that cotton actually contains exceeds the normal amount, it shall be evidence, until the contrary is proved, that the cotton is watered.