https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=458578 Section 123 of the Indian Customs Act applies only where Customs seizes goods in a reasonable belief that they are smuggled; a prior police seizure does not, by itself, trigger that burden-shifting rule. On the facts, Customs merely received the goods after the police seizure, and there was no material showing that the police acted on a reasonable belief of smuggling. The respondent's explanation was found plausible, and the circumstances did not justify invoking presumptions under Sections 106 and 114 of the Evidence Act. Section 123 was therefore not attracted, the burden did not shift, and the prosecution failed to establish guilt. en-us Mon, 12 Feb 1979 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 07 Nov 2024 17:40:01 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=458578 Section 123 of the Indian Customs Act applies only where Customs seizes goods in a reasonable belief that they are smuggled; a prior police seizure does not, by itself, trigger that burden-shifting rule. On the facts, Customs merely received the goods after the police seizure, and there was no material showing that the police acted on a reasonable belief of smuggling. The respondent's explanation was found plausible, and the circumstances did not justify invoking presumptions under Sections 106 and 114 of the Evidence Act. Section 123 was therefore not attracted, the burden did not shift, and the prosecution failed to establish guilt. Case-Laws Customs Mon, 12 Feb 1979 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=458578