GURWANT SINGH Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The crux of the facts, culminating in the commencement, relevant for the limited purpose of deciding the core controversy, involved in the instant petition and emanating from the record, is that, on receipt of secret information, petitioner Gurwant Singh son of Ajit Singh was apprehended by the custom staff and police on 14.6.1994 at Sherpur Chowk, Ludhiana. After completion of the formalities and in pursuance of search, 79 gold biscuits, with foreign markings and Indian currency of Rs. 1,53,000/-, were recovered from his possession in the presence of independent witnesses. The smuggled gold biscuits were seized and taken into possession by the custom staff, by virtue of search memo under sections 110 and 111 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the rules framed thereunder (hereinafter to be referred as "the Act and relevant Rules"). The petitioner made voluntary statement before the custom officers, admitting the recovery of the gold biscuits and confessed that he had been working in Abu Dhabi for the last 3-4 years. He brought the said biscuits to Ludhiana and for this job, he was to get commission of Rs. 4000/-. Consequently, the petitioner was arrested by the custom officers after following the due procedure under Section 104 of the Act.

(2.) Levelling a variety of allegations and narrating the sequence of events, in all, according to complainant-respondent Assistant Collector, Customs (for brevity "the complainant") that since the unaccounted smuggled 79 gold biscuits with foreign markings were recovered, so, the petitioner is liable to be prosecuted. After obtaining the requisite sanction and in the background of these allegations, the complainant filed the complaint (Annexure P2) against the petitioner for the commission of offence punishable under section 135 of the Act in the manner indicated hereinabove.

(3.) The petitioner-accused did not feel satisfied and preferred the present petition for quashing the impugned complaint (Annexure P2) and all other subsequent proceedings arising therefrom, invoking the provisions of Section 482 Cr.PC.