Retracted extra-judicial confession and statutory payment upheld as corroborated facts sustained penalties.

A retracted extra-judicial confession was held admissible in penalty proceedings because it was found voluntary, trustworthy and corroborated by recovery of foreign exchange, documents and surrounding circumstances; the appellate court also noted that factual inferences on voluntariness were not open to reappreciation in an appeal confined to questions of law. Amounts received from third parties on behalf of a non-resident brother and credited in special accounts opened in his name were treated as payment in the statutory sense, as they discharged obligations on the proved facts, so the penalties were sustained and the appeal failed.

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Issues: (i) Whether the appellant's confessional statements were voluntary, genuine and admissible in evidence, and whether a retracted confession could be acted upon on the facts found. (ii) Whether the amounts received and credited in favour of a non-resident brother constituted payment within the meaning of the Act so as to sustain the penalties for the remaining notices.

Issue (i): Whether the appellant's confessional statements were voluntary, genuine and admissible in evidence, and whether a retracted confession could be acted upon on the facts found.

Analysis: The appellate scrutiny was confined to questions of law, and the challenge that the confession was involuntary or the product of custody depended on factual inferences already rejected by the fact-finding authority. Statements made to enforcement officers were treated as extra-judicial confessions and were not excluded merely because such officers exercised investigative powers akin to customs officers. The confession was found to be reliable and voluntary, supported by detailed disclosures, recovery of foreign exchange and documents, and surrounding circumstances. Although retracted, the confession was corroborated in material particulars and therefore could safely be relied upon.

Conclusion: The confession was admissible, voluntary and sufficiently corroborated, and the challenge failed.

Issue (ii): Whether the amounts received and credited in favour of a non-resident brother constituted payment within the meaning of the Act so as to sustain the penalties for the remaining notices.

Analysis: The amounts were shown to have been received from third parties on behalf of the non-resident brother and deposited in special accounts opened in his name. On the proved facts, the transactions represented discharge of obligations and therefore amounted to payment within the statutory sense. The contrary construction urged on behalf of the appellant was rejected on the facts established in evidence.

Conclusion: The transactions amounted to payment within the meaning of the Act, and the penalties were justified.

Final Conclusion: No ground was made out to interfere with the findings sustaining contravention and penalty, and the appeal was dismissed in full.

Ratio Decidendi: A retracted extra-judicial confession may be relied upon in penalty proceedings when it is found voluntary, trustworthy and corroborated in material particulars, and factual inferences supporting such findings are not open to reappreciation in an appeal confined to questions of law.

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