9911796707
TMI Blog1972 (2) TMI 37X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as Deputy Superintendent, Central Excise and Customs, received telephonic intimation from his superior officer Jokhi that contraband goods were likely to be imported near Bassein and that Wagh should get ready. A car was thereafter sent to the house of Wagh. Wagh accompanied by Jokhi, Inspectors Jadhav and Surti and one constable left Vadala at about 10 p.m. and reached Bassein level crossing at about 1.30 a.m. They stopped their car near the wicket gate of the level crossing. The car was facing towards Vajreswari when it was parked near the wicket gate. Its lights were then put off. At a distance of 4 or 5 furlongs from the wicket gate towards Vajreshwari side, there is a bridge across a creek on that road. About half an hour after their arrival, Wagh P.W. and his companions saw the lights of a car coming from Vajreshwari side. The said car after arrival near the bridge put off its lights and turned towards a kutcha track leading to salt pans. The car after that again turned towards the road and stopped at some distance from the road, Wagh and his companions waited for 10 or 15 minutes. As they did not notice any movement during this interval, they took their car towards the bridg ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ding to the then market-rate was about Rs. 6,75,000. The markings on the chips showed that the gold was of foreign origin. Such chips were also not prepared in India. 4.P.W. 4 James Robb, Senior Superintendent of Customs, who is authorised to record statements under Section 108 of the Customs Act, recorded the statements of the driver of the car of the accused as well as those of Wali Mohammad and Harbansingh accused. Statement Ex. 18 of Wali Mohammad was recorded from 4 to 5 p.m. and it was got written in Gujarati from Sub-Inspector Patel. Statement Ex. 17 of Harbansingh accused was recorded from 5 to 6 p.m. in English and it was got written from Rane, Deputy Superintendent of Central Excise. The statements were read over to the accused and were signed by them. The two accused were thereafter put under arrest. On the following day they were produced before the Magistrate. 5.In his statement Ex. 17 Harbansingh accused-appellant, with whom we are concerned, traced his life from 1948 onwards and the different avocations to which he had taken. The appellant also mentioned as to how he had got acquainted with Wali Mohmmad in a cinema house. According further to the appellant, he met ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Mohammad accused were present was intercepted at about 2 a.m. on March 22, 1965, near the bridge of Bassein creek by the party of Customs Officials. The appellant also admitted that when Wagh P.W. questioned them as to why they had come there and what was in the car, the appellant and Wali Mohammad had kept quiet. In answer to the question that Wali Mohammad had after some pause stated that there was gold in the dicky of the car, the appellant stated that he did not know. The appellant admitted that he had been shown the gunny bags in the dicky, but, according to him, he did not know about that. The fact that the two panchas were called and the car was taken to the Central Excise Office, Bombay was also admitted by the appellant. The appellant further admitted that there were some markings in English on the gold chips which were taken out of the jackets. According to the appellant, he did sign statement Ex. 17 but he added that his statement had been recorded twice. The version of the appellant was that he got into the car in question at Bassein railway station as the local train had earlier left. The driver of the car then told the appellant that he would go via Bhiwandi. The car ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... above contention. Robb (P.W. 4), who is Senior Superintendent of Customs, has deposed that he recorded statement Ex. 17 of the appellant. According to the witness, the appellant signed every page of the statement. The statement was then attested by the witness. No question was put to Robb P.W. suggesting that any portion of statement Ex. 17 had been inserted by the witness or any other Customs Officer. In the circumstances, the contention now advanced on behalf of the appellant that part of statement Ex. 17 was inserted by the Customs Officers without the appellant having made that part of the statement would smack of afterthought. It is, no doubt, true that the appellant mentioned gold in statement Ex. 17 only after the alleged contact with fishermen, while in the earlier part of the statement there is reference only to spare parts, but that circumstance would not warrant the inference that the later part of the statement containing reference to gold was introduced by Senior Superintendent Robb. Robb had to record the statement as made by the appellant and if the appellant chose not to refer to gold in the earlier part of the statement, that fact would not discredit the latter par ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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