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TMI Blog1983 (2) TMI 298X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of depositing the amount of penalty before the appeal is heard and decided on merits. He further pointed out that to his knowledge no application has been made by the appellant for stay of the penalty under Sec. 129-E of the Customs Act, and therefore the appeal is liable to be dismissed for non-compliance with provisions of Sec. 129-E. This fact is confirmed by Advocate Shri M.G. Karmali who added that he was about to make this request before the departmental representative pointed out the omission. Shri Karmali made a verbal request to grant the stay pending the hearing and decision of appeal. Considering the fact that the case had been posted for hearing, we reserved our decision on this point and agreed to proceed with the hearing of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d notes. He also submitted a copy of the Bombay High Court s Judgment in the case of Criminal Appeal No. 1059 of 1966 and sought the benefit of this decision to be given in the present case. Shri Karmali further contended that there was no corroboration from Shri Dilip Ahuja who had also been given a show cause notice by the Addl. Collector of Customs (Prev.) Bombay. Thus, there was no corroboration at all and since the original statement had been retracted, there was no evidence to connect Shri Sajdeh with the contraband watches and straps seized from the bag. Shri Karmali also discussed the Board s order under which relief in penalty was granted to the appellant and pointed out that the Board s reliance on the oral confession of Shri Sajd ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... stoms Act. Under provisions of this law, the person summoned was bound to state the truth and therefore the statement dated 14-8-1980 was correct. On the other hand the letter dated 21-8-1980 from the appellant addressed to the Asstt. Collector could not be accepted as correct, as the same was not supported by any evidence. He has also pointed out that the appellant had not stated how he was coerced or induced to give a false statement, nor made any attempt to prove so by asking for cross-examination of the officers recording his statement and the witnesses. The panchanama provided the corroboration to the statement of the appellant. In these circumstances, the statement was valid for the purpose of adjudication against Shri Sajdeh. Acco ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 28 of the Indian Penal Code and the person summoned has to give a correct and truthful statement. As regards Shri Karmali s contention that the crew member who pointed out the baggage to the Customs has not been identified, we observe that the crew member in question has to be treated as an informer and his identity has to be kept secret and cannot be disclosed under provisions of Sec. 125 of the Evidence Act. This alleged infirmity cannot be treated as hitting the acceptability of the statement of Shri Sajdeh. The statement itself has been signed by Shri Sajdeh and he has appended a certificate to the fact that the statement has been read, correctly recorded and has been made without force or coercion. In these circumstances there is not a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The appeal of Shri Sajdeh therefore deserves to fail. 5. As regards the departmental representative s observation that the appeal is time-barred under Sec. 129-A(3) of the Customs Act, we find that the period of 3 months thereunder has been extended to 6 months under Notification G.S.R. 593 (E) dated 11-10-1982 issued under Sec. 50 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1980. From the Ministry s letter dated 2-11-1982 submitted by the Advocate, it is seen that the revision petition was received in the Ministry on 25-10-1982 by which date new Chapter XV of the Customs Act had already come into existence under Notification No. GS.R. 597 (E) dated 11-10-1982 and G.S.R. 595 (E) Notification No. 223/82-Customs dated 11-10-1982. The revision petition wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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