TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1998 (6) TMI 361
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....ontain 107 cartons concealed under Bhangs of old plastic scraps. On opening of the said cartons, same were found to contain polyesterised textured yarn of foreign origin totally valued at Rs. 9.63 lakh. The said goods along with scrap material was seized by the customs officers on a reasonable belief that the same are contraband goods of foreign origin. The said seizure was made in the presence of two independent witnesses as neither the driver nor khalasi of the truck was present nor any other person who claimed to be in-charge of the vehicle was present. Subsequently, during investigation, the appellant Md. Nasir who is minor owner of the truck has claimed the ownership of the truck before the customs officers. The other appellant Md. Far....
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....ice, Muzaffarpur. They approached the Hon'ble Patna High Court for release of the truck. He submitted that the Patna High Court vide their order dated 25-5-1992 passed in Civil Writ Petition No. 23/63/92 ordered release of the truck after execution of the Bank Guarantee of Rs. 2.0 lakh. As the appellant was not having any finance for execution of the bank guarantee, the truck could not be released. Drawing our attention to the findings of the Commr., Customs, Preventive in the impugned order, he submits that the same are based on appreciation of incorrect facts inasmuch as the Commr. has observed that the seizure was effected on 10-10-1991 whereas the F.I.R. was lodged on 17-10-1991 that is after about a week of seizure of the truck loaded ....
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....er, fled away from the seen after seizure by the customs officers is based on surmises and conjecture and no evidence was on record. Accordingly, he prays for unconditional release of the truck. He submits that recently on approaching the Department, the appellants have found that most of the truck's parts have been stolen and only a outer shell of the truck is lying in the department. He submits that in this connection, the appellants have written a letter dated 3-1-1998 to the Prime Minister of India alleging a complaint against the customs officers. He also submits that the truck in question, was purchased by the appellants in the year 1991 for an amount of Rs. 60,000/- and was seized by the officers in 1991. From that date onwards, the ....
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.... to be justifiable. Reliance was also placed by him on the Tribunal's decision in the case reported in (66) E.L.T. 105. 5.  We have heard the submissions made from both sides. We find sufficient force in the pleas made by the Ld. Advocate. The only paragraph dealing with the guilty intention of the appellants in the impugned order is based on the fact that the seizure was effected on 10-10-1991 whereas an F.I.R. was lodged by the appellants on 17-10-1991 and as such the development which took place subsequent to the seizure has been dismissed as an after - thought. The undisputed fact is that the seizure was effected on 19-10-1991 and as such the factum of lodging of F.I.R. cannot be said to be an after-thought. Apart from that ther....