G. AHMED Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner was A.2 in C.C. No. 1229 of 1980 on the file of the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Coimbatore. He was tried along with one Nagendran arrayed as A -1 for having committed offences punishable under Section 135(b)(i) read with Section 111 of the Customs Act and under Section 85(ii) read with Section 8(i) of the Gold Control Act. The Petitioner as well as A.1 were convicted as charged and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,500/ - under each count in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months. The sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(2.) THE Petitioner and A.1 preferred criminal appeal No. 32 of 1983 and Criminal Appeal No. 13 of 1983 respectively, before the first Additional Sessions Judge, Coimbatore challenging the verdict of the trial Court. The Appellate Court concurred with the findings recorded by the trial Magistrate and dismissed both the appeals. It appears that Nagendran (A1) had served his sentence and therefore his incarceration did not become necessary, after the disposal of the appeal preferred by him.

(3.) THE prosecution case will have to be stated in brief for the disposal of this revision. P.W.1, the Superintendent of Central Excise, had information that gold was likely to be smuggled and therefore was keeping surveillance at Raja Street, Coimbatore near 'Hotel Guru', maintaining a watch for movement of contraband gold in a car. At or about 1.15 p.m. on 15.3.1970, they found the Petitioner and A.1 near No. 242, Raja Street, Coimbatore, conversing, being seated inside an Ambassador car, bearing registration No. MDR 4980. The Petitioner was in the driver's seat while A.1 was seated next to him. P.W.1 and his officers prevented this car from proceeding further and detained it along with the Petitioner and A.1. The Car was taken to the office of the Assistant Collector of Central Excise, Coimbatore. Though initially the presence of contraband gold in the car could not be detected, on a Careful scrutiny from the running board 700 gold bars were recovered. The subsequent recovery of some more gold from the residence of A.1 need not have to detain us for the disposal of this revision. Statements were recorded from the Petitioner and A.1. The statement of the Petitioner has been marked as Ex.P.4. Wealth of details have been given in Ex.P.4 as to how the Petitioner had involved himself in the transport of gold, found with foreign markings. According to his confession, he had met one Iqbal at Sathara and he had travelled along with him upto Bombay. The Petitioner had narrated his miserable financial condition since he was earning a monthly salary of Rs. 150/ - which was hardly sufficient to meet even his bare necessities. Iqbal told the Petitioner that he would give him a good chance a few days thereafter. On 3.3.1970 at Sathara, Iqbal tore a hundred rupee note and gave one half of the currency to the Petitioner for identification purposes, after noting down the number of the note, a part of Which had been handed over to the Petitioner. Iqbal told the Petitioner, that a person will return on 10 -3 -1970 in a car bearing registration No. MDR 4980 and he will be identified on showing the half piece of the note to that person who brings the car. Thereafter the car will be left in his possession. The Petitioner should then take the car to Coimbatore and hand it over to one Nagendran, after contacting him over telephone No. 26602 on the pseudonym "Kumar". It was during such operation in which the Petitioner involved himself, that the seizure of gold was made, from the Ambassador car in his possession. In several places in his confessional statement, the Petitioner had stated that he suspected that black market articles such as fabricated currency notes, watches, gold or silver must have been placed within the said car since he was paid Rs. 600/ - to take the car from Sathara to Coimbatore. He has further stated that he had learnt, that there was gold in the car, but he was not aware as to whom the said gold belonged. He had also told the officer admittedly, that the car was with gold, but he was unaware as to where it had been concealed. The statement also shows, that even prior to this incident, he had come over to Coimbatore and had met Nagendran, in a car shed, and handed over jackets of gold.