https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=448880 The HC upheld the trial court's acquittal of the accused in a sandalwood smuggling case under Section 135 of the Customs Act. The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was a customs house agent who packed the boxes with intent to illegally export sandalwood to Singapore. The court noted that sandalwood had arrived two months prior and shipping arrangements were cancelled, negating intent to evade customs duty. No evidence established the accused as the owner or showed document forgery. The HC emphasized the double presumption favoring acquittal - initial innocence presumption and reinforcement through trial court acquittal. The appellate court cannot interfere with acquittal without substantial compelling reasons, particularly when two reasonable conclusions are possible from evidence. en-us Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 31 Jan 2024 12:55:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=448880 The HC upheld the trial court's acquittal of the accused in a sandalwood smuggling case under Section 135 of the Customs Act. The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was a customs house agent who packed the boxes with intent to illegally export sandalwood to Singapore. The court noted that sandalwood had arrived two months prior and shipping arrangements were cancelled, negating intent to evade customs duty. No evidence established the accused as the owner or showed document forgery. The HC emphasized the double presumption favoring acquittal - initial innocence presumption and reinforcement through trial court acquittal. The appellate court cannot interfere with acquittal without substantial compelling reasons, particularly when two reasonable conclusions are possible from evidence. Case-Laws Customs Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=448880