NARESH KUMAR SETH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Shri Amlesh Choudhary, Intelligence Officer, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi has filed a complaint against Naresh Kumar Seth petitioner for trial for the offence under Sec. 135 (1) (b) of the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act).

(2.) Briefly stated the allegations against the petitioner have been that there was a specific information with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence that huge quantity of smuggled gold was stored in the residential premises of the accused being B-242, Derawala Nagar, New Delhi. Accordingly, a surveillence was kept on the said house. On 27th February, 1991 the petitioner was noticed throwing a packet from terrace of his house Into the gali on the back side of the premises. The said packet on examination was found to contain 10 foreign marked gold bars of 10 tolas each. A search was conducted of the said premises on which 12 packets were recovered from the store room of the top floor containing 120 gold larges bearing foreign marking of 10 tolas each. The accused had stated that he wanted to get rid of the smuggled gold on account of which he wanted to throw it in the gali and was able to throw only one packet when he was noticed by the officer and so he concealed the remaining 12-packets in the store room. Asearch was made of the rear side of the house when one packet was recovered which also contained 10 foreign marked gold bars of 10 tolas each. In this way all the gold bars were taken into possession under reasonable belief that they had been smuggled into India and liable to confiscation. Since the petitioner was not in a position to produce any evidence for lawful import acquisition or possession of the same, the petitioner was examined and his statement under Sec. 108 of the Act was recorded on 27th February, 1991 and was arrested on the same day, i.e. 27th February 1991. It is in these circumstances that the complaint was filed.

(3.) By way of this application the petitioner has prayed for bail.