DEEPESH MAMODIYA Vs. CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Issue notice. Mr. G.S. Arora, Advocate accepts notice.

(2.) The petitioner in these proceedings claims an order giving directions to quash the order of the Chief Commissioner (Customs) dated 10.03.2014, whereby his application for compounding made under Section 137 of the Customs Act was rejected.

(3.) The facts are that the petitioner landed in India from Hong Kong inter alia with ten thousand pieces of micro chips (micro SD cards) valued at Rs.15,80,000/-. These articles were sought to be taken into the country without declaring them; he could not, upon being stopped by the customs authorities, give a satisfactory explanation or produce any evidence with regard to the legality of the goods. He admitted the recovery of goods from his package. In his first statement on 31.05.2011 recorded under Section 108, the petitioner stated that goods were given by one Shri Rakesh Jain of Hong Kong for delivering the same to someone else in Jaipur. In the later statement recorded in July and August, 2011, the petitioner admitted that the articles were procured by him only and that he bought them from the market to sell them in India. He admitted that due to fear, he did not disclose the truth on 31.05.2011. Apparently, he also made certain contradictory statements in the bail application presented on his behalf before the Metropolitan Magistrate.