https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=165168 A customs officer is not a "police officer" under section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act unless the statute substantially confers the ordinary powers and duties of the police for prevention and detection of crime. Officers under the Sea Customs Act, 1878 and Land Customs Act, 1924 were held to exercise primarily revenue-oriented and anti-smuggling functions, with limited, specific powers of search, seizure, arrest, summons and confiscation. Their statements recorded in customs proceedings were therefore not hit by section 25 and were admissible. The respondent's acquittal was set aside and the conviction restored. A dissenting view treated the customs powers as sufficiently akin to police powers and would have excluded the confession. en-us Wed, 30 Aug 1961 00:00:00 +0530 Fri, 29 Aug 2014 12:29:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=165168 A customs officer is not a "police officer" under section 25 of the Indian Evidence Act unless the statute substantially confers the ordinary powers and duties of the police for prevention and detection of crime. Officers under the Sea Customs Act, 1878 and Land Customs Act, 1924 were held to exercise primarily revenue-oriented and anti-smuggling functions, with limited, specific powers of search, seizure, arrest, summons and confiscation. Their statements recorded in customs proceedings were therefore not hit by section 25 and were admissible. The respondent's acquittal was set aside and the conviction restored. A dissenting view treated the customs powers as sufficiently akin to police powers and would have excluded the confession. Case-Laws Customs Wed, 30 Aug 1961 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=165168