STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. KRISHNAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by the State against the acquittal of the respondent, Krishan Lal, upon a charge punishable under S. 167, item 81 of the Sea Customs Act of 1878. The charge against the respondent was that a quantity of smuggled gold was recovered from his possession. He was convicted by the trial Court and sentenced to six months' imprisonment, but on appeal the learned Sessions Judge acquitted him on the ground that the contraband nature of the gold had not been established satisfactorily.

(2.) I need not give the details of the recovery at length because the recovery of the gold is admitted by the respondent. Information was received by the Customs Department that the respondent would be arriving at a certain spot (a lorry-stand in Amritsar) and would be in possession of smuggled gold. A raiding party was accordingly organized and M. S. Bedi, R. S. Banis and Stnam Singh, all Customs Inspectors, were members of this party. At 4-30 p.m. on 5-3-1957 this party accosted the respondent and recovered from his possession five bars of gold believed to be of foreign origin. These bars bore the mark "999" and weighed in all 48 tolas 11 mashas. The gold was concealed in the nefa of the under drawers worn by the respondent. There was one gold piece in his trousers. The respondent's story was that he had purchased this gold in the open market. He was given ample opportunity to produce evidence and substantiate his plea of bona fide, but no evidence was produced by him and eventually he made a statement in Court that the had no witnesses to examine and no evidence to produce.

(3.) The question for our decision in this case is whether the presumption arising under S. 178-A of the Sea Customs Act is sufficient to hold the respondent guilty of the offence punishable under S. 167 of the Act. Section 178-A is in the following terms: