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TMI Blog1967 (11) TMI 116X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tation in two motor cars with a few accused persons arrested by them, the Sub-Inspector saw a person standing by the side of the public road near the Mission Hospital, with a filled cloth bag. The Sub-Inspector stopped his car. when the above person went to the car with the bad. Apparently, he was waiting for somebody to come in a car. But when he saw the police, he tried to escape. He was stopped and the bag was searched. It contained 789 Indian currency notes of one hundred rupees denomination, bundled into several lots and slips of papers attached thereto. He was arrested on the spot, and the whole currency notes were seized by the Sub-Inspector. The person thus arrested is the petitioner before us. He told the police that these currency notes were entrusted to him by one Kesavan Madhavan, that they were amounts remitted from foreign countries through secret agencies to be distributed to persons in India, and that he was waiting there for Kesavan Madhavan, who had promised to come in a car and meet him The arrest and seizure were made on the reasonable belief that the petitioner alone with others were guilty of offences under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act. 1947 (hereinafte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o the value of ₹ 78,900/-. (2) all other documents found in the possession of Sri Krishnan Sukumaran. Dated at Madras this 28th day of May. 1966. Sd/- K A Ganapathy Asst. Director, Enforcement Directorate Ministry of Finance. Dept. of Rev. Govt. of India. Madras. To The Sub-Inspector of Police. Varkala, Trivandrum District, Kerala State" In the light of the contentions advanced in this case it is necessary to read also the application made by the respondent. "IN THE HON'BLE COURT OF THE MAGISTRATE. VARKALA M. P. No. Nil of 1966 in Crime No. 83/66 of Varkala Police Station. The petitioner herein is the enforcement officer, Enforcement Directorate, Ministry of Finance Government of India. Cochin authorised by the Central Government to obtain the documents in connection with Crime No 83/66 of Varkala Police Station. The case under reference has been found by the police, falling under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (Act 7 of 1947) and they have transferred the case records to the petitioner for further action in the matter A report to that effect has also been submitted to the Court by the Sub-Inspector of Police. The documen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd as the case has been referred to a Division Bench stating that it involves important questions of law, we do not propose to dispose of it on such a preliminary ground. 5. The application made by the respondent for the custody of the currency notes has been sought to be supported by the Central Government Pleader under Section 19(2) of the Act. If this is the only ground on which the claim can be supported, he must fail. Section 19 of the Act reads as follows:-- "19(1) The Central Government may. at any time by notification in the Official Gazette, direct owners, subject to such exceptions, if any as may be specified in the notification, of such foreign exchange or foreign securities as may be so specified, to make a return thereof to the Reserve Bank within such period, and giving such particulars, as may be so specified (2) Where for the purposes of this Act the Central Government or the Reserve Bank considers It necessary or expedient to obtain and examine any information, book or other document in the possession of any person or which in the opinion of the Central Government or the Reserve Bank it is possible for such person to obtain and furnish, the Central Governm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or getting into the custody of the Enforcement Directorate, the currency notes seized by the police and produced before court, for the purpose of investigation of a case under the Act. We do not think that Section 19 is a provision intended for this purpose, nor can it be pressed into service for the same. 7. The petitioner's learned counsel is also right in his contention that currency notes are not "documents'", and that an order under Section 19(2) cannot direct any person to furnish currency notes. The Act does not contain a definition of the word "document". The learned Central Government Pleader referred to the definition contained in Section 3(18) of the General Clauses Act, 1897, and contended that document includes currency note This section reads- "3(18) -- "document" shall include an matter written, expressed or described upon any substance by means of letters, figures or marks, or by more than one of those means which is intended to be used, or which may be used, for the purpose of recording that matter." A reading of the section refutes the above contention. Sub-section (7) of Section 19-A of the' Act provide? as f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... forcement are competent to the custody of these documents under Section 19G of the Act. This application was drawn up in a very clumsy manner It is also evident from the order passed by the Assistant Director under Section 19(2) of the Act, and the averments in the above application made by the respondent, that neither of these officers were aware of the relevant provisions of the Act under which they could get the currency notes from the custody of the court for the purpose of investigation of the case under the Act. But this cannot stand in the way of the respondent getting custody of the same, if he is entitled to them under any provision of law. 9. Section 19A empowers any officer of Enforcement authorised in this behalf by the Central Government to search any person and seize documents, if he has reason to believe that such a person has secreted any document which will be useful for or relevant to any proceeding under the Act. Section 19D empowers an officer of Enforcement, not below the rank of Assistant Director to authorise any officer of Enforcement to search for and seize any documents for the above purpose. Section 19G, among other things, authorises any officer of Enfo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... language of the section. It certainly applies to property seized by a police officer under circumstances which create suspicion of the commission of any offence: and that is precisely the circumstance which leads to the seizure of the currency notes concerned in this case. In Suraj Mohan v. State. AIR 1967 Guj 126 Shelat. J said:-- "There are three stages in a matter in which the Magistrate may be required to pass orders regarding custody or disposal of any such property The first is before the charge-sheet in any criminal case is received by the Court and such a matter may well be covered under Section 523 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Then the court may have to pass orders relating thereto during the pendency of the inquiry or trial and that can he done under Section 516A of the Code. Then comes Section 517 which requires the Court to pass orders in that respect when the trial is concluded " Speaking about the scope of Section 523 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Anna Chandy, J. observed in Ali Kunju v AH Kunju, AIR 1960 Ker 343 that the section was wide enough to include the disposal of a property seized by the police in the course of investigation of a crime- in r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on them on the same date. It was contended in that case, among other things, that the second order of detention was bad, as it was served on the appellants, while they were in jail. Rejecting this contention, the Supreme Court said - "In these circumstances, it would be in our opinion an empty formality to allow the appellants to go out of jail on the revocation of the order of November 7, and to serve them with the order dated November 10, 1962, as soon as they were out of jail". The same Principle applies to the case before us. 12. If a property which an officer is entitled to seize or otherwise take possession of under any provision of law is in the possession or custody of a court or any other authority, it is plain common sense that what that officer has to do under such circumstances is to move the court or the authority, as the case may be, for handing over possession of the said property to the officer. And if the court or authority does not require to have possession of the property for any lawful purpose it is its duty to hand over the property to the officer, for being dealt with according to law. In the instant case, the currency notes were seized by the po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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