TMI Blog2004 (7) TMI 495X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 01, the police personnel posted at Police Post Pathauli in Agra intercepted Maruti Car No. HR-07/E-1928 while coming from Jaipur to Agra. On conducting search of that car, 40 gold biscuits of foreign origin were recovered and all the three occupants of the car namely Shri Deepak Kumar Garg, (now deceased) Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and Shri Rohit Goel were detained by the police. The recovered biscuits were seized by the police after preparing a panchnama. On the next date i.e. 15-6-2001, the police handed over the biscuits and the above said persons to the Customs officers at Agra. The Customs officers interrogated these persons and thereafter recorded the statements of Shri Manoj Kumar appellant and Shri Deepak Kumar Garg. They did not den ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of that those were smuggled biscuits shifted on the Customs authorities and no presumption in that regard under Section 123 of the Customs Act could be drawn. He has also contended that there is no evidence to prove that the biscuits were smuggled by any of the appellants from a foreign country and that the alleged confessional statements of Shri Deepak Kumar Garg and Shri Manoj Kumar Agarwal could not be relied upon as the same were procured from them after keeping them in custody for four days i.e. 15-6-2001 to 18-6-2001 and the same were retracted by them. He has further contended that even those statements did not bear the signature of any gazetted officer and for that reason also, did not carry any legal value. He has further submitted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ya v. Commissioner of Customs New Delhi [2002 (147) E.L.T. 807]; A.N. Agarwal v. Commissioner of Customs, Kanpur [2003 (157) E.L.T. 274] and Tulsi Das Agarwal v. Commissioner of Customs [2003 (158) E.L.T. 725]. No evidence whatsoever has been led by the department to prove that the gold biscuits in question were smuggled into India from a foreign country by Shri Manoj Kumar, Deepak Kumar or any other appellant. It can hardly be denied as a result of liberalization of the import of gold, gold biscuits are available in Indian market in plenty for sale and purchase transactions. 8. The appellants Shri Manoj Kumar, Shri Ajay Kumar, Shri Deepak Kumar (deceased - represented by his mother Smt. Mohini Devi, appellant) had taken the stand that th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on. Therefore, the lawful possession of gold biscuits by the appellants Shri Manoj Kumar, Deepak Kumar (now deceased) and Shri Ajay Kumar brother of Shri Deepak Kumar, stands amply proved. 9. The plea of the department that the invoices in question were not produced before the Customs authorities at the earlier stage by any of these persons, cannot be accepted as both the panchwitnesses namely Shri Jaial Singh, Shri R.P. Sharma in cross-examination had admitted the production of some bills before the police by Shri Manoj Kumar and Deepak Kumar at the time of their apprehension. The alleged confessional statements of these persons also cannot be attached any legal weight as the same could not be said to have been made by them voluntarily. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or the officer who recorded the same, not to put his own signatures thereunder. Shri Manoj Kumar and Deepak Kumar even retracted their statements through their affidavits dated 13-7-2001 by alleging that these were dictated to them by the officers when they were in their custody from 15-6-2001 to 18-6-2001. They submitted these affidavits only on release on bail from the Court. Therefore, keeping in view all these facts and circumstances detailed above, the purported statements of Shri Manoj Kumar and Shri Deepak Kumar could not be treated as substantial piece of evidence and could not be attached much legal value specially having not been signed by any gazetted officer as required under Section 108 of the Customs Act under which these were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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