TMI Blog1967 (12) TMI 67X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... motor car bearing registration No. MSX 4823 was intercepted as the same was coming out of No. 10, Second Main Road, Adayar, by the Customs Officers at about 11 P.M. on 19th March, 1962. Immediately on interception the driver of the car jumped out and escaped but Accused 1 to 3 mentioned above who were the other occupants of the car were apprehended. The car on examination was found to contain the following goods: Thereupon on 20th March, 1962, the premises No. 10, Second Main Road, Adayar, was searched. Accused No. 2 opened the door of the aforesaid premises with the help of the keys seized from him earlier and which were handed over to him for purposes of opening. As a result of the search the following goods were recovered. 78 Numbe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ods are held in the ports of India like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. It is this statement which Mr. Nambiar, learned Counsel for accused No. 1, relies on to show that the prosecution has not discharged the onus of establishing that the accused knew that the goods had been imported without payment of duty and that they had been unlawfully imported. 3. P.W. 1, K.S. Dilipsingh, was the Assistant Collector of Customs, Madras, on March 20, 1962. On that day he recorded the statement of accused No. 1--Ex. P. 1. He says that he recorded the statement of accused No. 1 in English although accused No. 1 was answering questions in colloquial Hindi. But he says that he read over to accused No. 1 the statement after having translated it in Hindi. In ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd confirmed the convictions and sentences imposed on the accused. The High Court relied on the confessions, the evidence regarding the interception of the car and the search of the premises. 8. Mr. Nambiar says that the confession, Ex. P1, made by accused No. 1 was not voluntary and, at any rate, could not be taken to record exactly the statement made by accused No. 1. He says that it is not voluntary because the accused was in custody for 24 hours and he was grilled for a number of hours. He further says that P.W. 1 admits that in the beginning the accused was not speaking the truth. He urges that consequently the confession should not be relied on. But the accused in his statement before the Court did not say that the confession was n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orate the confessional statement of accused No. 1, which is a very detailed one. It gives detailed particulars of various matters which could not have been within the knowledge of the Customs Authorities. After giving all these particulars he stated: I know that goods had been smuggled from Colombo and that these belong to S.M.A. Ibrahim, whose servant Ameen is. 10. The last contention he raises is that Section 411, Cr.P.C., is bad as it violates Article 14 of the Constitution. He says that if accused No. 1 had been tried in the Mofussil, and not in the City of Madras, he would have had a right of appeal, but by virtue of Section 411 he cannot file an appeal as his sentence is less than six months. This question was considered by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... om Ceylon and he landed near Chidambaram. He gave details which could not have been within the knowledge of the Customs Authorities. If his confession is believed, there is no doubt that he was directly concerned in the unlawful importation of the goods. 14. The learned Counsel finally contends that the confessions were not admissible under Section 25 of the Evidence Act. He relies on Raja Ram Jaiswal v. State Of Bihar (1964) 2 SCR 752), But we are concerned with a customs officer and as far as customs officers are concerned this Court held in State Of Punjab v. Barkat Ram (1962) 3 SCR 338 that customs officers are not police officers for the purpose of Section 25 of the Evidence Act. The case of Raja Ram Jaiswal (1964) 2 SCR 752) is dis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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