1999 (6) TMI 277

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..... met one, Mr. Karma Dorjee Gurung in a party and became friendly with him. The said Mr. Karma Dorjee represented himself to be a tourist guide and owner of video library. She met this person a number of times during their friendship. 3. On 13th May, 1996, Mr. Karma Dorjee who was in Kathmandu talked to the appellant and told her that he would be coming to Darjeeling on 15th May, 1996 and expressed his desire that the appellant should come to receive him at Pashupati Gate which is the Indo-Nepal Border near Darjeeling. The appellant went to receive Mr. Karma Dorjee by hiring a private taxi from Darjeeling. Mr. Karma Dorjee was intercepted by the Customs Officer at the check post while the appellant was waiting for him at Pashupati Sukhia Po .....

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..... the drugs. She came to receive me at Pashupati and my friend Ramesh told me to go with her so no one will suspect us. In view of the foregoing statements of Mr. Karma Dorjee, ld. Advocate submitted that even in his initial statements, the person carrying hashish had made it clear that the appellant was not aware of the carrying of hashish by him. He submitted that initially the Customs Officers did not arrest the appellant as they believed that the appellant was no where connected with the seized hashish. 5. He also drew my attention to the statements of the appellant given on the spot wherein she had clearly deposed that Mr. Karma Dorjee did not give any definite reason as to why he was going to Kathmandu and so she did not have a .....

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..... of hashish. The adjudicating authority has come to the above conclusion on the ground that she had refused to receive the summons issued to her by the Customs Officers under Section 108 of the Customs Act and did not response to the summons. I find that there is no justification in the finding of the adjudicating authority. As explained by the appellant being a young student and having been found with a person who was caught carrying hashish was under depression and under fear. From the statements of the appellant and Mr. Karma Dorjee, the position becomes very clear that the appellant was not at all aware of the fact that she was in knowledge of the fact that her friend was carrying the hashish across the border. This is a simple case of .....

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