The AT dismissed the appeal and upheld the adjudicating...

The AT dismissed the appeal and upheld the adjudicating authority's order dropping proceedings against the respondents, concluding the directorate failed to prove contravention of FEMA on the preponderance of probabilities. The directorate's case relied predominantly on evidence and statements gathered by I-T authorities without independent corroboration or independent exercise of investigative "like powers" under FEMA. The impugned foreign-origin document was unauthenticated, unsigned and produced only as an unclear photocopy; its provenance and original could not be established. Further, inconsistent statements by the accused and the directorate's inability to produce the case file (attributed to a fire) reinforced the absence of admissible, reliable proof, warranting dismissal of the appeal.

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