Statutory register entries defeat confiscation where authorities fail to prove any Gold Control contravention with reliable evidence.

Confiscation of gold ornaments and penalty under the Gold (Control) Act were held unsustainable because the statutory GR 13 register supported lawful possession and no reliable evidence proved a contravention. Statements recorded by customs authorities could be relied on only if voluntary, true, and trustworthy, and the petitioner's statement was discredited by the surrounding circumstances: the register had earlier been found in order, the seized register was not produced despite opportunities, and adverse inference followed against the authorities. Conjectural objections about delay in processing or similarity of ink were insufficient to reject the entries. The confiscation and penalty were quashed, and return of the ornaments was directed.

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Issues: Whether the confiscation of gold ornaments and the penalty imposed under the Gold (Control) Act were sustainable when the ornaments were entered in the statutory register and the material on record did not establish a contravention.

Analysis: Statements recorded by the customs authorities under the Gold (Control) Act were not treated as confessions recorded by a Magistrate, but they could be acted upon only if voluntary, true, and trustworthy. The statement attributed to the petitioner was not supported by the surrounding circumstances, because the ornaments were shown in the GR 13 register, the register had been inspected earlier and found in order, and the respondents failed to produce the seized register despite opportunities. In those circumstances, the entries in the register could not be rejected on conjectural grounds such as delay in processing or similarity of ink, and an adverse inference was justified against the respondents. Since the ornaments belonged to other persons and the required entries had been made, no violation of the Act was established.

Conclusion: The confiscation and penalty were unsustainable and were quashed; the petitioner was entitled to return of the gold ornaments.

Ratio Decidendi: Where statutory entries supporting possession of gold are on record and the authorities fail to disprove them with reliable evidence, confiscation and penalty under the Gold (Control) Act cannot be sustained.

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