2015 (4) TMI 1076
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....egistered against the present respondents original accused for the offence under Section 135(b)(i) of the Customs Act read with Section 120B and 120A of the Indian Penal Code. The accused were facing trial for serious offences under the provisions of the Customs Act for bringing silver in a clandestine manner. 2. The case of the prosecution is that acting on the secret information on 14-10-1987, the raiding party had gone to the place of offence known as "Hathikhan" near Swami Narayan Temple in the Kalupur area of City of Ahmedabad, at evening time. While they were on the road, they found that respondent Nos. 1 and 2 were there and respondent No. 3 came near them and delivered one packet to respondent No. 2 and in turn the responden....
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....submitted that the findings arrived at by the trial Court are not supported by the evidence and material on the record of the case. He submitted that the trial Court ought to have come to the conclusion that the accused persons are involved in smuggling of contraband silver seized by the Customs officers on the basis of the evidence and material on the record of the case. He further submitted that the trial Court ought to have convicted the accused persons on the basis of the statements of accused Nos. 1 and 2 recorded under the provisions of Section 108 of the Customs Act which are admitted in evidence as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the judgment reported in AIR 1970 SC 940 = 1999 (110) E.L.T. 324 (S.C.) and other judgments. H....
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.... interfere unless it is found that there is perversity in the impugned order. It is also submitted that only based on the statement of accused Nos. 1 and 2 under Section 108 of the Customs Act, it cannot be said that the accused are guilty of the offence with which they are charged. It is also submitted that there is no other evidence against the accused and the learned trial Court has rightly acquitted them of the charges levelled against them. In this case, accused No. 3 was not found with any contraband article, therefore, no case is made out against him is the submission of Ms. Ahuja. It is also submitted that the contraband article in question was not recovered from the possession of the accused and they were lying at a distant place. ....
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....e judgment or to give fresh reasonings when the Appellate Court is in agreement with the reasons assigned by the trial Court acquitting the accused. In the instant case, this Court is in full agreement with the reasons given and findings recorded by the trial Court while acquitting the respondent-accused and adopting the said reasons and for the reasons aforesaid, in my view, the impugned judgment is just, legal and proper and requires no interference by this Court at this stage. Hence, this appeal requires to be dismissed. 8. In a recent decision in the case of Satvir Singh v. State of Delhi thru. CBI reported in AIR 2014 SC 3798, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed as under : "19. An early but exhaustive considera....
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....p; (emphasis supplied) Sections 417, 418 and 423 of the Code give to the High Court full power to review at large the evidence upon which the order of acquittal was founded, and to reach the conclusion that upon that evidence the order of acquittal should be reversed. No limitation should be placed upon that power, unless it be found expressly stated in the Code. But in exercising the power conferred by the Code and before reaching its conclusions upon fact, the High Court should and will always give proper weight and consideration to such matters as (1) the views of the trial judge as to the credibility of the witnesses; (2) the presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, a presumption certainly not weakened by the fac....
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