HIRALAL VALLABHBHAI PATEL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, on a trial by the Presidency Magistrate, 23rd Court, Bombay, was convicted under rules 126-P 9ii) and 126-P (2) (iv) of the Defence of India Rules, 1962 and Sec. 135 (b) (i) and (ii) of Customs Act, 1962, and was sentenced to nine months, rigorous imprisonment on each of the two counts. The sentences were directed to run concurrently. On an appeal against the said order of conviction and sentence, the High Court rejected the appellant's appeal and upheld the Trial Magistrate's order of conviction and sentence. Hence this appeal by special leave.

(2.) The relevant facts lading to the appellant's prosecution may be stated as follows:

(3.) On information that a certain room in the occupation of one Kolvekar, situate in a building known as'Suryamahal' on Girgaum Road, Bombay, was being used as a base for smuggled gold, Superintendent Wagh of the Central, Excise organised on October 24, 1963 a raiding party. The party consisted of Deputy Superintendent Rane. Inspector Salgaonkar and Hiremath and certain other officers. Rane had with him the requisite warrant to enter and search the said room. The raiding party took along with them two panchas. At about 2.50 p.m. the raiding party entered Suryamahal to go to Kolvakar's room, being room No 19 on the first floor, from Girgaum Road side on the eastern side of the building Inspector Hiremath was left in the open passage on the ground floor to watch the comings and goings of anyone from the said room, while Rane, Salgaonkar and the panchas went up to the first floor. Rane left the search to the other members of the staff who had accompanied him and he and Salgaonkar remained in the common passage outside the room watching the search. In the meantime the two officers saw the appellant and another person coming up the staircase, each of them having a bag in his hand. On their reaching room No. 19 and peeping inside to see what was happening, Rane inquired of them as to what they wanted. Instead of replying to such a simple question, the appellant and his companion started running down the staircase. Both Rane and Salgaonkar thereupon ran after them, the former shouting 'Pakado Pakado' (catch-catch). The appellant, according to the prosecution, ran out of the estern side of the building, dropping the bag which was with him. Rane, who chased him, saw him discarding that bag on the landing. He picked it up and resumed his pursuit of the appellant. The other man, who was with the appellant, ran on the western side of the building, also dropping the bag which he had with him, and though chased by Salgaonkar, managed to make good his escape. By the time Salgaonkar, who as aforesaid was trying to catch the other man, reached the gate of the building on the western side, that is, on the side of Thakurdwar Road, the appellant, probably finding that Hiremath had stationed himself on the Girgaum Road side, turned towards Thakurdwar Road side, where Salgaonkar caught him near a workshop belonging to wit Pilankar and known as the Thakurdwar Brass Works. In the meantime Rane, as also Hiremath, arrived at the spot and apprehended the appellant. While the appellant was being secured as aforesaid, Pilankar noticed a plastic bag lying in front of the building on the western side. It was the bag which the appellant's companion had with him and which he had discarded on the way while he was making good his escape. The appellant was then taken to Kolvekar's room where the search had by then been completed. The bag discarded by him on the landing while he was running away and which Rane had picked up was then opened in the presence of the panchas. The bag had in it a jacket which on being unstitched revealed hundred slabs of gold with foreign markings. Each slab weighed ten tolas. The other bag which the appellant's companion has discarded also contained a jacket which on being unstitched disclosed another lot of hundred slabs of gold, each of ten tolas, with, foreign markings. The search of Kolvekar's room brought out in all eleven similar slabs of gold. After the panchanama and the statements of the appellant and the witnesses were recorded, the gold secured by these officers was taken charge of by the customs authorities. A sample of the said gold was sent to the Mint Master, Bombay for his examination and was found to be foreign gold. On those allegations , the appellant was, as aforesaid, tried before the Presidency Magistrate, 23rd Court, Bombay.