9911796707
TMI Blog1995 (1) TMI 215X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the Collector of Customs Central Excise, Tiruchirapalli, dated 26-3-1991. The appellant Shri Chellappan is the licensee under the Gold (Control) Act, 1968, the `Act for short, at Coimbatore. The Central Excise officers, on prior information, on 10-10-1988 visited the residential premises of appellant Shri Chellappan for search. The other appellant Smt. Rajeswari is appellant Shri Chellapan s wife. Appellant Shri Chellappan, on seeing the officers, locked the door from inside and initially refused to open the door and the door had to be opened later subsequent to the officers warning appellant Shri Chellappan that they would bring Police and forcibly open the door. The officers on search of the premises recovered 8 gold bars with for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d that the cash of Rs. 1,50,000 represented the sale proceeds of smuggled gold bars and also the new ornaments were made out of the foreign marked gold and the iron cutter was used for cutting the gold bars. He further stated that he also used to sell gold biscuits as such besides making ornaments out of the same. Appellant Shri Chellappan s wife, Smt. Rajeswari also gave a statement that outside parties used to visit her house and purchase gold and ornaments from her husband and the gold bars of foreign origin and new gold ornaments besides Indian currency belonged to her husband appellant Shri Chellappan. Proceedings instituted after due investigation eventually resulted in the present impugned order appealed against. 3. S/Shri B. Kumar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reate suspicion in the mind of the authority, but suspicion is not a substitute for proof to hold that the amount represented sale proceeds of smuggled gold. Reliance was also placed on the ruling of the Tribunal in the case of Ramchandra v. Collector of Customs, reported in 1992 (60) E.L.T. 277 (Tri.), in support of the plea that confiscation of currency under Section 121 of the Customs Act, 1962 will not be legally sustainable unless it is established there was a sale of smuggled goods by a person having knowledge or reason to believe that the goods were of smuggled origin and besides establishing the seller and the purchaser and the quantity of gold. Reliance was also placed on the other ruling of the East Regional Bench in the case of K ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l was not able to probabilise that the seizure as set out in the mahazar is not acceptable. Immediately on seizure appellant Shri Chellappan has given a more detailed and elaborate statement, which is inculpatory in nature, setting out the circumstances under which he was in the habit of procuring contraband gold from outsiders for purpose of sale and also for purpose of manufacture of new ornaments and how the gold bit remanents were chiselled pieces out of the contraband gold biscuits supplied by one Musthafa and how the currency under seizure represented the sale proceeds of gold biscuits. Even though there was a retraction on 19-10-1988 there is no explanation as to why there was such a delay even for retraction which also did not give ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hout any seizure of gold and the ruling in the case of Kiran Chandra Sarkar is also not applicable to the facts of the case, because that was a case where admittedly there was no inculpatory statement. There was no seizure of gold and the question was as to whether a person can be penalised on the basis of the retracted confession of another person, who was in the position of a co-accused. Therefore, on detailed consideration of the entire evidence on record, we hold that the charges against the appellant Shri Chellappan have been brought home. The gold biscuits are not claimed by appellant Shri Chellappan and, therefore, the absolute confiscation of the same is confirmed. So far as the gold ornaments and currency are concerned, for the rea ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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