Technical breach in gold register entries did not justify confiscation where vouchers proved receipt and no smuggled origin was shown.

Where receipt of gold ornaments and primary gold was proved by vouchers and supporting statements, a short delay in making contemporaneous statutory entries under the Gold Control law was treated as a technical breach only. Because there was no allegation of clandestine disposal or smuggled origin, confiscation was not justified on these facts and was set aside. Penalty was considered permissible only to the extent warranted by the nature of the lapse, and it was therefore reduced to a nominal amount.

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Issues: Whether confiscation of gold ornaments and imposition of penalty were justified where the goods were covered by vouchers and the only default was failure to make immediate statutory entries under the Gold Control law.

Analysis: The gold ornaments and primary gold were found without contemporaneous entry in the statutory register, which constituted a breach of the requirement to record receipts and issues as and when transactions occur. The explanation that the entries were not made because the goods had been received only hours before the search, and the munim had not yet come, was treated as plausible. The transactions were independently verified through vouchers and statements, and there was no allegation of clandestine disposal or smuggled origin. On these facts, the omission was held to be a default of a technical nature and not one warranting a serious punitive response. The principle applied was that confiscation and penalty must reflect the circumstances and the established nature of the transactions.

Conclusion: Confiscation was set aside, and the penalty was upheld only to the extent of a reduced amount of Rs. 5,000.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the acquisition or receipt of gold is duly established by vouchers and supporting statements, and the only lapse is a short delay in making statutory entries, confiscation is not justified and any penalty must be proportionate to the technical nature of the breach.

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