2000 (12) TMI 526

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....Malngian and on search of the said ladies, six pieces of small rods, twisted and electroplated with silver, were recovered from the possession of each lady, which they were carrying underneath their dresses. On interrogation, the ladies admitted that the said twelve numbers of twisted and electroplated rods were actually made out of primary gold bars of foreign origin and were converted into rods and then electroplated with silver to avoid detection. 2.2 The said two ladies also disclosed that the gold in question belonged to Md. Munna Ali, the appellant herein and that they were only carrying the gold bars to Delhi under the directions of said Md. Munna Ali. 2.3 The residence of Md. Munna Ali was also put to search on the s....

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....t they knew Md. Munna Ali for the last few years and also stated that Md. Ali used to visit their shop for use of the machine. Two employees of M/s. Diamond Jewellers were interrogated, who admitted that Md. Ali used to come to their shop for using the machine and used to bring small cylindrical rods of pure gold and with the help of the machine, used to make the rods thinner and longer. 2.5 On the other hand, Md. Usman Ali, another appellant herein, in his various statements recorded during the course of investigations, admitted that he was a jeweller by profession and owned a jewellery shop at Umsoshun, Shillong and is the elder brother of Md. Munna Ali. He owned the gold strip recovered from the premises of Md. Munna Ali and disc....

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....ersons of two ladies who immediately on recovery of the gold bars, had admitted that the same were given to them by Md. Munna Ali. Munna Ali had also owned the said gold. The statements of the two ladies who had given details of not only the present trip but also the previous trips made by them, fully corroborate with each other. Even the statement of Md. Munna Ali also disclosed the details in regard to procurement of smuggled gold, its conversion into rods and electrocution of the same with silver etc. The Commissioner has dealt with the appellant's plea as regards the retraction of the Statement. He has rightly concluded that the statement dated 28-8-1996 was in Md. Munna Ali's own hand-writing and was retracted by him only on 19-9-1996,....

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.... the above plea of the appellant. 3.2 I also note that the appellants have strongly contended that the gold rods were nothing but bangles in smuggled form usually worn by the Khasi Women of that area. However, I find no efforts have been made by the appellants to show that wearing of similar type of bangles is a custom in that area. The appellants' defence is only a lip-service without any defence-evidence to that effect. There is no merit in the said plea of the appellants, especially in view of the fact that his initial statements have been held to be of evidentiary value in the preceding paragraphs, I reject the same. Accordingly, in view of the foregoing discussions, I uphold the absolute confiscation of the 12 pieces of rods....