2001 (5) TMI 374

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.... said that, in addition to selling dry fruits at his shop at Bazargate Street, he also used to traffic in smuggled gold. He used to buy the gold from foreign nationals who contacted him, and sell it to Hanif, who was at Surat, but telephoned him every Wednesday and Sunday. Two Polish nationals approached him and offered foreign marked gold for sale in exchange for foreign currency. On the next occasion that Hanif telephoned, the appellant told him about the gold being available. Hanif came to Bombay, gave the appellant the currency and picked up the gold. The appellant was taking the currency to be given to the two Polish nationals whom he had arranged to meet at the lounge of Adarsh Hotel at Kalbadevi, when he was stopped by the officers a....

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.... same smuggled gold or some other smuggled goods. He relied upon the decisions of the Tribunal in CC v. Om Prakash - 1993 (67) E.L.T. 966; Ramchandra v. C.C. - 1992 (60) E.L.T. 277 and Malar v. C.C.E. - 1988 (33) E.L.T. 444. 3. The departmental representative says that statements made by the appellant in his statement are not so improbable or unreasonable that they are unbelievable. It is not uncommon for a smuggler to conceal his identity from a person with whom he deals in order to protect himself. It was natural for Hanif to get in touch with the appellant rather than give the appellant his telephone number and other particulars. The appellant had never said that the Polish nationals were staying in Adarsh Hotel. He only said tha....

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....lant signed routinely the retraction which was part of the proceedings for applying for bail. Even assuming that the appellant was fully aware of the contents in the retraction, it is so worded that is not worthy of credence. In his retraction, the appellant says that all the statements recorded by the officers of the DRI are not correct and not voluntary also. One statement of the appellant was recorded. The attempt by counsel to say that what was meant to say by "all the statements" is " all the averment in the statement" is ingenious and difficult to believe. The appellant further says in the retraction "he denies he has knowledge of foreign currency with him. Nothing was found with him." Now, the panchanama clearly established the recov....

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....e appellant would have given some explanation for it. No doubt, as the Tribunal has held in Malar v. CCE - 1988 (33) E.L.T. 444, unsatisfactory explanations for currency are not by themselves sufficient to conclude that such currency is the sale proceeds of smuggled goods. That decision, however, was concerned with Indian currency. It would be valid to consider foreign currency on a different footing. A person resident in India may acquire Indian currency by any one of a number of means. Foreign currency, however, stands on a different footing. A person resident in India does not so routinely acquire foreign currency that its possession (especially, as in the case before us, of a very large sum) would not call for an explanation. It is not ....