9911796707
TMI Blog1997 (6) TMI 249X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rs. 2. Appearing for the Department Shri Satnam Singh, SDR contended that there was enough evidence against the present respondent linking him with the illegal import of ball bearings and compressors of foreign origin valued at Rs. 9,83,750/- and 3,80,000/- which had been marked Made in Japan and again Kathmandu via Calcutta which were packed in gunny bags/Cardboard boxes and transported to Delhi in a truck from the Nepal Border. These were seized by the Officers of Customs on 11-1-1993 New Delhi. The statement of the driver of the truck, Yasin and the other two occupants of the truck, Rajinder Sharma and Pawan Kumar clearly implicated the involvement of the respondent in the smuggling into India of the above goods. Pursuant to adjudi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... No. DNH 1062 and his statement that he had sold the said car to one Ashok Kumar of Rajouri Garden was false. It is also not in dispute according to SDR that the residential premises of R.K. Madan was located by Customs officials on the basis of information given by Shri Pawan Kumar, one of the occupants of the truck. All these facts, apart from the statements given by the driver and occupants of the truck which brought the smuggled goods from Indo-Nepal border clearly established the involvement of Shri Raj Kumar Madan, the Respondent herein. Having regard to these facts the ld. SDR contended that the Collector (Appeals) had erred in holding that the present Respondent had no link with the alleged smuggling of the goods. 3. Ld. Advocate f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Advocate for the Respondent that the requirement of Section 129A(2) has not been satisfied in the present application, we find that the Memo of Appeal filed by the Collector of Customs on 4-4-1995 before the Tribunal contains, (i) an affidavit sworn by the Collector, (ii) a Memo of Appeal (iii) an application for setting aside the order passed by the Collector (Appeals) Customs dated 30-12-1994 and (iv) a statement of facts of the case with the Grounds of Appeal at the end. The Grounds of Appeal contains a prayer for setting aside the order of the Collector (Appeals) and restoration of the Order-in-Original or in the alternative the remand of the case of de novo adjudication. 6. On the question of recording of the satisfaction of Collec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at though a person summoned under Section 108 of the Customs Act was not a person accused of an offence for purposes of Section 24 of the Evidence Act till a complaint under Section 135 was filed against him, a confessional statement of an accused, if voluntary, could form the sole basis for conviction. Further Collector (Appeals) had found that the statement of Pawan Kumar that R.K. Madan had met him at about 6.30 p.m. at Meerut was not reliable since it was on record that he reached Mohan Nagar at 7.00 p.m. which is about 50 kms from Meerut. The Collector (Appeals) had found that the Dy. Collector had not given due consideration to this aspect in the order in original. The ld. SDR had contended before us that Pawan Kumar s statement t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... conducted at the residence of Respondent on 25-6-1993 nothing incriminating had been found. Further, though the statement given by Raj Kumar Madan and his wife Indu Madan on 25-6-1993 had been found to be unreliable, we find that the inconsistencies relate not to the allegation of involvement in the smuggling of the goods but to matters relating to the ownership of Car No. DNH 1062 or their actual residence or other matters which do not have a direct bearing on the allegation of involvement in smuggling. While the statements given by Yasin and Pawan Kumar relied on by the Department no doubt are self-inculpatory, their statements involving the Respondent do not, in the absence of any corroborative material, go to the extent of showing that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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