Customs penalty cannot stand on identical charges after criminal discharge where no independent material supports the allegation.

Customs penalty and confiscation were examined where the same allegations had already led to the respondent's discharge in connected criminal proceedings. The court noted that both proceedings were founded on identical facts and the same basic material, and that the criminal court had found no prima facie case linking the respondent to the alleged smuggling. In that setting, the argument that departmental action could survive merely because the criminal standard of proof is higher was rejected. The customs penalty was therefore not sustained in the absence of independent material, and the Tribunal's decision in favour of the respondent stood.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was right in setting aside the customs penalty and confiscation order on the ground that the very same allegations had resulted in the respondent's discharge in the criminal proceedings.

Analysis: The proceedings before the customs authorities and the criminal revision were founded on the same factual allegations and the same basic material. The Court noted that the respondent had already been discharged under Section 239 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 after finding no prima facie material connecting him with the alleged smuggling. In these circumstances, the argument that departmental proceedings must be sustained merely because the standard of proof differs from criminal prosecution was rejected, since the charges themselves were identical and no material was shown to justify the penalty.

Conclusion: The Tribunal was correct in allowing the respondent's appeal, and the customs department's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was dismissed as no substantial question of law arose, and the respondent's exoneration from the connected criminal proceedings was accepted as fatal to the customs penalty on the same charges.

Ratio Decidendi: Where departmental proceedings rest on the very same charges and material as the connected criminal case, and the criminal court has found no prima facie case, the customs penalty cannot be sustained in the absence of independent material.

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