9911796707
TMI Blog1969 (6) TMI 22X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ain information a team of Customs Officers came to 36B, Armenian Street, Calcutta with a search warrant under section 105 of the Customs Act in the morning of September 2, 1966. They searched three rooms, one on the first floor, one on the second floor and the third room on the third floor stated to be in possession of the appellant. On search of the first floor room, 498 pieces of wrist watches and other things were recovered and seized, from the second floor two pieces of wrist watches, one transistor radio and certain other things were recovered and seized. Then they came to the third floor room which was found locked. The key of the room was not produced by the appellant or anybody else and so the room was broken open and a locked steel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rooms from which certain watches and other articles were seized. The appellant explained the possession of these articles and there was no prosecution on account of that. The house belongs to Messrs. Mulchand Investment (Private) Limited, the owner of which is said to be the relation of the appellant, but that is of no importance at all. The prosecution comes with a story that he was in possession of not only the first and the second floor rooms but also of the third floor room was opened with the cupboard inside the third floor room was opened with the key which was produced by the appellant. The appellant however denies the tenancy in respect of the third floor room and the cupboard from inside which gold was recovered. The recovery of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mption arises that the rent receipts would have shown that the appellant was not a tenant in respect of that room. The important evidence however comes from the two search lists exhibits 22 and 31. Admittedly two searches were held and two separate search lists were prepared. P.W. 6 stated that the practice was to prepare one search list for all the rooms in occupation of one man and there is no satisfactory explanation as to why two search lists were prepared, if all the rooms were in occupation of one man namely the appellant. Then again if we look to the search lists we will find that in exhibit 22 the name of the person in occupation is stated to be Jhabarmall Agarwalla and against the entry it is written bed room on the first floor sou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r room was broken open. They found the steel-cupboard inside and as soon as they asked the appellant to open the cupboard, he came to the second floor room under guard and produced the key with which the cupboard was opened. The appellant has denied it and it is unthinkable that the appellant would in such circumstances produce key of the cupboard knowing that smuggled gold was inside. The prosecution evidence on the point is that on close interrogation, the appellant admitted that the key of the almirah was in his bedroom. He went down, being escorted and brought two keys and with these keys the cupboard was opened. This witness, P.W. 1, does not name the escorts, PW. 11 who is also a preventive officer of the Customs does not speak of clo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rom the third floor room which connects the appellant. The appellant denied that he had any papers in that room and he has pointed out that after the search all the papers were jumbled up on the first floor room and then the search list was prepared. This is an admitted position and even the prosecution admits that they collected all the articles seized in the first floor room and then search lists were prepared. There is evidence that even the articles recovered from the third floor room were brought to the first floor room and therefore, the story of recovery of personal papers of the appellant from the third floor room cannot be accepted. Then again the prosecution did not examine two of the search witnesses Nagarmall and Tripathi and no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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