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2022 (5) TMI 1259 - HC - CustomsIssuance of summons - whether from the facts and circumstances, it could be inferred that the Court below has passed the impugned order summoning the petitioners without taking into consideration the material as well as the provisions of the statute - HELD THAT:- As per Section 135(1)(a) of the Act, prosecution can be initiated if the market price of the goods exceeds Rs.1 Crore. It is an admitted fact that in the order dated 4th August 2011 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Preventive), collective value of all the goods was taken to be Rs.77,16,288/- and it is further admitted that no appeal was preferred against the said order, which therefore, attained finality. It may be observed that in the present case there is nothing to show that the petitioners made any false declaration or prepared false documents and, therefore, he is not liable to be prosecuted under Section 132 of the Act. In this case, moreover the complaint is barred by limitation inasmuch as per the provisions of Section 132 of the Act, which existed at the relevant time the punishment which could have been imposed for violating Section 132 of the Act could have extended for a period for a period of six months or with fine or with both and limitation in this case as provided under Section 468 of Cr.P.C. is only 1 year. The learned Courts below did not consider that at the stage of Section 200 of Cr. P.C., the exemption can only be given to a public servant who has filed a case in his official capacity, but such exemption is not available with the other witnesses. In the present case, it was the duty of respondent no.2 to prove its case against the petitioners and show sufficient evidence on record, however, the respondent no. 1 in the present case did not examine even the panch witnesses to prove its case. Therefore, the Court below has summoned the petitioner without any material on record for prima facie satisfaction. The impugned order, passed in the instant case, is bad in law. Petition allowed.
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