9911796707
TMI Blog2008 (7) TMI 1125X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... b) 9(1)(a) of the FERA, 1973 having received payment on behalf of NRI and making payment to J.E. Desai, a person resident outside India, without the permission of RBI. The appellant has made payment of penalty amount in compliance of the order of this Tribunal dt. 11.08.01 where presently this appeal is taken up for final disposal on merits. The appellant did not appear today despite notice where a report is submitted by Ld. DLA about service of notice of hearing on the appellant by affixation under Rule 14(c) of Adjudication Proceedings and Appeal Rules, 2000. The appellant has not appeared despite notice where it appears that the appellant is no more interested in contesting this appeal who has already deposited full penalty amount in com ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... b) and 9(1)(a) respectively where the appellant was held guilty by the Adjudicating Officer and being aggrieved this appeal has been preferred by the appellants against the impugned order. 5. The confessional statements of the appellant is fully corroborated by the statement of recipient Smt. Chitra M. Patel which goes on to prove the charges against the appellant. It is submitted in the memo of appeal that the confessional statements were subsequently retracted which were obtained under threat and coercion. But there is merely a bald statement not supported by any documentary evidence to prove that the said statements were obtained under coercion and threat. The retraction of the said statements where there is nothing to support the case o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat the inculpatory statement was not extorted. It thus boils down that the authority or any court intending to act upon the inculpatory statement as voluntary one only. On this principle of law, this Court in several decisions has ruled that even in passing a detention order on the basis of an inculpatory statement of a detenu who has violated the provisions of the FERA or the retraction and record its opinion before accepting the inculpatory statement lest the order will be vitiated. 6. It has been observed by the Supreme Court in K.I. Pavunny v. Assistant Collector (HQ), Central Excise Collectorate, (1997) 3 SCC 721 that retracted confessional statement may be sufficient ground for the conviction of the offender provided there is suffici ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ents of recipient of draft, Smt. Chitra M. Patel and also corroborated with the seized documents which go on to prove the charges against the appellant. The retraction of the confessional statements is thus nothing but an after thought without any basis. These statements contain wealth of information and minute details which were within exclusive knowledge of the appellant and could not be a result of tutoring or compulsion. 8. The appellant delivered the subject draft to Smt. Chitra M. Patel and received the payment on behalf of the NRI, J.E. Desai and subsequently made payment of it to the NRI where such transactions are prohibited under Section 9 (1) (b) 9 (1) (a) of the FERA, 1973. These sections of the FERA provide as under: 9. Restric ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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