2011 (9) TMI 65 - SUPREME COURT

Offences and penalties - whether all offences under the said Act are non-cognizable and, if so, whether such offences are bailable - Sub-section (1) of Section 9A , which has been extracted hereinbefore, states in completely unambiguous terms that notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, offences under Section 9 shall be deemed to be non -cognizable within the meaning of that Code - An offence punishable with imprisonment for three years and upwards , but not more than seven years, has been shown to be cognizable and non-bailable - the definition of “non-cognizable offence” in Section 2(l) of the Code makes it clear that a non-cognizable offence is an offence for which a police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant

Submissions made by Mr. Rohatgi that since offences under the Customs Act are non-cognizable, they are, therefore, bailable, was wholly incorrect, as all non-cognizable offences are not bailable - Both Section 9A of the 1944 Act and Section 104(4) of the Customs Act, 1962, provide that notwithstanding anything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, offences under both the Acts would be non-cognizable - offences under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962, are bailable and if the person arrested offers bail, he shall be released on bail in accordance with the provisions of sub-Section (3) of Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962, if not wanted in connection with any other offence