Confiscation of seized currency failed where the department lacked independent proof linking cash to smuggled goods.

Seized Indian currency was alleged to be the sale proceeds of smuggled foreign-made liquor and cigarettes, but confiscation under the Customs Act, 1962 could not be sustained because the department relied chiefly on a confessional statement and produced no independent material linking the money to smuggled goods. The burden to justify confiscation remained on the department, and the record did not establish that the respondents themselves had smuggled the goods into India. The Commissioner's finding that the evidence was insufficient and that the respondents were entitled to the benefit of doubt was upheld, so the currency was held not liable to confiscation.

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Issues: Whether the seized Indian currency was liable to confiscation under the Customs Act, 1962 as alleged sale proceeds of smuggled foreign-made liquor and cigarettes.

Analysis: The department relied mainly on a confessional statement, but there was no other material to establish that the currency represented proceeds of smuggled goods. The burden to justify confiscation under the Customs Act, 1962 lay on the department, and the record did not show that the respondents themselves had smuggled the goods into India. The Commissioner's view that the evidence was insufficient and that the respondents were entitled to the benefit of doubt was found unobjectionable.

Conclusion: The currency was not liable to confiscation; the impugned order was upheld and the appeal was rejected in favour of the respondents.

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