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Issues: Confiscation of truck, imposition of penalties, liability of owner, liability of driver/passenger, evidence of knowledge, application of Section 112 of Customs Act.
In this case, the appeals were filed against the Order in Original issued by the Collector (Customs) in Kanpur, which led to the confiscation of a truck carrying goods of foreign origin valued at Rs. 6,52,000 and the imposition of penalties on the owner of the truck and a passenger. The truck was intercepted by police officers, leading to the arrest of two passengers while the driver escaped. The owner claimed ignorance about the nature of the goods being transported and presented a previous tribunal order in support of his argument. The driver's fictitious address and his escape were considered as evidence of his knowledge about the illicit goods. The judgment analyzed the submissions made by both sides and referred to previous tribunal orders to support the confiscation of the truck due to the presence of contraband goods. The judgment highlighted that the driver's knowledge could be imputed to the owner under Section 115(2) of the Customs Act. While the owner's lack of knowledge was considered as an extenuating factor, the order of confiscation was upheld, but the redemption fine was reduced based on the circumstances of the case. Regarding the penalties under Section 112 of the Customs Act, the judgment differentiated between the liability of the owner and the driver/passenger. The judgment emphasized the necessity of establishing essential ingredients of a penal provision and the need for clarity in specifying the clauses of Section 112 applicable in the show cause notice. It was held that the lack of evidence connecting the owner with the contraband goods rendered the penalty on the owner unsustainable, leading to the setting aside of the penalty. In the case of the driver/passenger, discrepancies in statements and the lack of concrete evidence linking them to the goods led to the setting aside of the penalties imposed on them. The judgment emphasized that suspicion alone is not sufficient to establish guilt and that concrete evidence is required to impose penalties under Section 112 of the Customs Act. In conclusion, the judgment upheld the confiscation of the truck but reduced the redemption fine, while setting aside the penalties imposed on both the owner and the driver/passenger due to insufficient evidence linking them to the contraband goods.
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