JYOSHNA ALANKAR BHANDAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The two petitioners having been convicted under Section 85 of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 ('the Act' for short) and sentenced by the trial court to pay fine of Rs. 3,000 in default the licensed dealer representing the petitioner No. 1 to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month and the petitioner No. 2, manager of petitioner No. 1 to pay fine of Rs. 3,000 in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month, modified in appeal so far as petitioner No. 1 is concerned only to a fine of Rs. 3,000 but not to the 'in default' sentence and confirming the sentence so far as the petitioner No. 2 is concerned, have preferred this revision to quash the convictions.

(2.) THE facts leading to the prosecution case are that petitioner No. 1 is admittedly a jewellery shop purportedly owned by Dolagovinda Naik representing the shop as also the members of his family, but in respect of the shop only he is the licensed dealer. The shop was raided by the Central Excise Staff on February 14, 1978, and amongst other things, primary gold weighing 720.800 grams as also gold coins weighing 109.500 grams were seized under exhibit 1.

(3.) SIX witnesses were examined on behalf of the prosecution whereas the defence examined fifteen witnesses, but both the courts below came to the conclusion that the primary gold and the gold coins have been illegally stocked in the shop and that hence the provisions of Section 85(1)(ii) of the Act have been violated.