Gold ornaments under the Gold Control Act include crude finished bangles commonly worn as ornaments, defeating confiscation.

Finished gold articles that are commonly worn by ladies may qualify as "ornaments" under Section 2(p) of the Gold Control Act, 1968, even if they appear crude or unattractive to sophisticated buyers. The decisive factors are their purity, size, weight, description and workmanship, together with evidence of ordinary use as ornaments. On the facts described, witness evidence supported the conclusion that the seized bangles fell within the statutory definition, and the suggestion that they were merely gold formed into ornamental shape was unsupported. The articles were therefore treated as lawfully acquired under Section 31, and the confiscation and penalty basis could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the seized gold bangles were ornaments within the meaning of Section 2(p) of the Gold Control Act, 1968 and whether they were therefore acquired in a manner authorised by Section 31 of that Act.

Analysis: The evidence of the panch witnesses, both of whom had experience in dealing with ornaments, supported the view that bangles of the purity, size, weight, description and workmanship of the seized articles were commonly used as ornaments by ladies. On inspection, the bangles had five designs and were crude in appearance, but their workmanship did not take them outside the statutory definition. The roughness and alleged risk of abrasion found by the revisional authority were not borne out on inspection, and the inference that the articles were merely gold given the shape of ornaments through a dye-casting process was not supported by evidence. The conclusion that the sellers named in the vouchers were fictitious was also unsupported by the record.

Conclusion: The bangles were ornaments within Section 2(p) and were acquired in a manner authorised by Section 31; the confiscation and penalty orders could not stand on that footing.

Ratio Decidendi: Articles of gold that are in a finished form and are commonly used as ornaments, having regard to their purity, size, weight, description and workmanship, fall within the statutory definition of ornaments even if they are crude and not attractive to sophisticated buyers.

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