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TMI Blog1972 (10) TMI 19X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... respect and direct that the transistor and all the gold articles, other than the primary gold, seized from the petitioners be returned to them. As I have already observed, the order of the lower court regarding the delivery of cash to the income-tax department will stand confirmed - - - - - Dated:- 13-10-1972 - Judge(s) : MAHARAJAN. ORDER MAHARAJAN J.- On September 3, 1971, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore City, claiming to have received credible information that Srinivasan and Sampath Kumar, the revision petitioners, were habitually dealing in stolen properties in the form of gold jewels of high value concerned in several burglaries and thefts committed in Coimbatore and its suburbs, went to the house of the petition ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iled an application before the Magistrate for return of the gold ornaments, the primary gold weighing over 222 grams and the National Transistor of Japanese origin. The learned Sub-Magistrate dismissed the applications filed by the petitioners and directed the cash to be handed over to the income-tax department and the gold jewels and primary gold and transistor to be handed over to the Superintendent of Central Excise, Coimbatore. It is against this order that the present revision has been filed. The question arises as to who is the person entitled to possession of the articles in court deposit within the meaning of section 523, Criminal Procedure Code. So far as the cash amount is concerned, I think the order of the court below directin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he would be the person entitled to the possession of the amount in court custody. It has been held by the different High Courts in India that it would be an empty formality in the face of an application moved by the Income-tax Officer for delivery of the property to him, to have the property delivered to the persons from whom the police seized the same, and then allow the Income-tax Officer to seize it from those persons at the gate of the Magistrate's court. I have held in Criminal Revision Case No. 1088 of 1970 (Mohammed Kunhi v. Mohammed Koya) that the power of seizure can be exercised even though the seizure is not preceded by a process of laborious search, and that the dictionary meaning of the Word "search" being "look for" or "seek ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is on board a foreign-going aircraft; (c) any person who has got out of, or is about to get into, or is in, a vehicle, which has arrived from, or is to proceed to any place outside, India ; (d) any person not included in clauses (a), (b) or (c) who has entered or is about to leave India ; (e) any person in a customs area." It has been authoritatively held that for a seizure to be legal, the seizing officer should have a reasonable belief at the point of seizure-vide Collector of Customs v. Sampathu Chetty, M. G. Abrol v. Amichand Vallamji, Bhoormal Premchand v. Collector of Customs and Vasantlal Ranchhoddas Patel v. Union of India. Section 66 of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968, provides: " (1) If any Gold Control Officer has reaso ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he court below, did not say that he had any reason to believe that the petitioners had violated any provision of the Gold Control Act. What he said was as follows: "Whereas the Inspector of Police, Crime Branch, Coimbatore, has transmitted a copy of F.I.R. relating to Crime No. 1822/71, dated September 3, 1971, of B-1 Coimbatore, with connected records with his letter dated, October 13, 1971, addressed to the Assistant Collector of Central Excise, Coimbatore, for taking necessary action against the offenders, Srinivasan and Sampath Kumar, s/o. Adhinarayanan Chetti, under the Gold (Control) Act and whereas it, is reported that the property involved in the above case, viz., gold ornaments and primary gold weighing over 222 sovereigns, India ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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