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Issues: (i) Whether the alleged confessional statements could be relied upon as voluntary and true when the appellants were kept in custody for several days and a second seizure mahazar was prepared later the same day; (ii) Whether the facts established only preparation and not an attempt to export silver so as to attract liability under the Customs Act; (iii) Whether the charge of abetment against the appellants alleged to have facilitated the export was made out.
Issue (i): Whether the alleged confessional statements could be relied upon as voluntary and true when the appellants were kept in custody for several days and a second seizure mahazar was prepared later the same day.
Analysis: The surrounding circumstances showed that the appellants were intercepted on 5-11-1979, but were produced for remand only on 8-11-1979, without a satisfactory explanation for the intervening period. The absence of an immediate arrest or remand, coupled with the Board's own doubt that some persuasion may have been involved, indicated unofficial detention or control. In such circumstances, statements recorded during that period could not safely be treated as voluntary. The later mahazar, which incorporated inculpatory admissions inconsistent with the first mahazar, further weakened the reliability of the alleged confessions. A statement hit by involuntary circumstances could not be accepted as trustworthy.
Conclusion: The confessional statements were held to be involuntary and unreliable, and no reliance could be placed on them.
Issue (ii): Whether the facts established only preparation and not an attempt to export silver so as to attract liability under the Customs Act.
Analysis: The evidence showed that the seized goods were being taken from Cochin towards Trivandrum, but the appellants were still a substantial distance away from the alleged place of embarkation or export. The distinction between preparation and attempt was applied to the facts, and the stage reached by the appellants was found to be short of an overt act sufficiently proximate to consummation of the offence. The existence of a locus poenitentiae remained, and the material did not show that the act had crossed the line from preparation into attempt.
Conclusion: The facts disclosed only preparation and not an attempt, so the charge under the Customs Act was not established.
Issue (iii): Whether the charge of abetment against the appellants alleged to have facilitated the export was made out.
Analysis: The record did not establish a clear or legally sufficient role for the appellants said to have abetted the transaction. The material against the jewellery suppliers did not show more than a handing over of silver for approval, and the statements relied upon did not prove participation in the alleged unlawful export. The supposed link through the intermediary was also not substantiated by adequate investigation or credible incriminating material. The finding of abetment therefore lacked factual foundation.
Conclusion: The charge of abetment was not proved against the appellants.
Final Conclusion: The impugned confiscation and penalties could not be sustained, as the evidence failed to prove voluntary confessions, attempt, or abetment; the appeals succeeded.
Ratio Decidendi: A confession recorded during prolonged unofficial custody is unreliable, and liability for attempted export under the Customs Act arises only when the conduct goes beyond preparation and reaches an overt act proximate to completion of the offence.
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