TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (6) TMI 34
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....to be prepared of the seized items under Section 110 (1B) of the Customs Act, 1962. The said application addressed to the ACMM was made over to a Metropolitan Magistrate. By order dated 26.03.2013, the Metropolitan Magistrate dismissed it giving liberty to the applicant (the petitioner) to pursue the matter in an appropriate forum referring in this context to the judgment dated 21.02.2013 of a learned Single Judge of this Court in Crl.M.C. 526/2013 titled Directorate of Revenue Intelligence vs. State. It is the said order of the Metropolitan Magistrate which is sought to be assailed by the Department of Customs through the petition at hand. 2. Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 reads as under:- 110. Seizure of goods, documen....
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....ntory so prepared; or (b) taking, in the presence of the Magistrate, photographs of such goods, and certifying such photographs as true; or (c) allowing to draw representative samples of such goods, in the presence of the Magistrate, and certifying the correctness of any list of samples so drawn. (1C) Where an application is made under sub-section (1B), the Magistrate shall, as soon as may be, allow the application. (2) Where any goods are seized under sub-section (1) and no notice in respect thereof is given under clause (a) of section 124 within six months of the seizure of the goods, the goods shall be returned to the person from whose possession they were seized: Provided that the aforesaid period of six months may, on suffi....
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....xpression "Magistrate" is not defined in the Customs Act, 1962. It, therefore, has to be understood with reference to the nature of the proceedings entrusted by the afore-quoted provisions. 5. For present purposes, Section 3(4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.) provides the necessary guidelines, it reads thus:- "3. Construction of references.- (1) In this Code, - XXX (4) Where, under any law, other than this Code, the function exercisable by a Magistrate relate to matters- (a) which involve the appreciation or sifting of evidence or the formulation of any decision which exposes any person to any punishment or penalty or detention in custody pending investigation, inquiry or trial or would have the e....