HANS GEORGE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Mayer Hans George, who is a German National, has been sentenced to a year's term by the leaned Presidency Magistrate, 23rd Court, Bombay, for offences under Section 23 (l-A) (a) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, and See. 167 (81) of the Sea Customs Act, 1878. Stated simply, the charge against the appellant is that he brought gold into India without the permission of the Reserve Bank of India and with intent to defraud the Government of the duty payable thereon.

(2.) THE facts which are relevant for the decision of this appeal are mostly admitted. The appellant boarded a Swiss Air Plane at Zurich, Switzerland, on the 27th of November 1962, holding a ticket for Manila, Phillipines. The plane touched the Santacruz-Airport, Bombay, at 6. 05 a. m. on the 28th for a brief halt. Acting on previous information, two Customs Officers, Turilay and Bhappu, looked out for the appellant and not finding him in the Transit Passengers' Lounge, they boarded the plane and saw the appellant sitting solitarily in the plane. Inspector Bhappu verified the name of the appellant and asked him if he was carrying gold. The appellant, who knows and can speak in English, is stated to have indicated a 'no' by the shrug of his shoulders. Inspector Bhappu, however, felt the back of the appellant, suspected that the appellant was carrying gold on his person, off-loaded him and took him to the Customs Baggage Hall for a search. The search showed that the appellant was wearing a specially orepared jacket, having 28 compartments, which was attached to his body by adhesive tapes. In these compartments were found 34 slabs of gold weighing I Kilo each, of the total value of Rs. 3,06,000/- at the local market rate.

(3.) SOON after the search, the appellant admittedly made a statement (Ex. P) which shows that he is a professional carrier of gold. It appears from the statement that the appellant was once a sailor, then a porter and is now employed by an agency to smuggle gold into various countries. The appellant has stated in Ex. P that on the occasion in question, he was asked to carry gold from Zurich to Manila on a wage of 500 German Marks and that the gold did not belong to him.