TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (9) TMI 1646
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....conducted and a sum of Rs. 1,75,000/- has been seized from the table drawer of the petitioner. The respondent police conducted an enquiry and one P. Selvan Amalraj, District Manager of Tirupur, informed that an amount of Rs. 2 Lakhs has been demanded as bribe by the petitioner and he managed to bring Rs. 1,90,000/- and out of Rs. 1,90,000/-, Rs. 1,55,000/- has already been given to the petitioner as bribe and Rs. 35,000/- has been kept with him for giving the same to the petitioner as bribe. On the basis of the complaint, a case has been registered under sections 7, 13(2) r/w 13(i)(d) of Prevention of Corruption act, 1988. The allegations made against the petitioner are completely false and there should not be any presumption with regard to motives attributed against the petitioner. On the basis of the complaint, investigation has been done and subsequently, a final report has been filed and the same has been taken on file in Special Calendar Case No. 3 of 2014. Under the said circumstances, present petition has been filed for getting the relief sought for therein. 3. In the counter filed on the side of the respondent, it is averred that on the basis of the complaint, a surprise i....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....recoveries are inadmissible in evidence. He also pointed out that the seizure panchnama was not in accordance with the procedure and, more particularly, Section 27 of the Evidence Act. Now, let us consider how far the prosecution has established that the recovered articles/materials were either used or intended to be used for the bomb blasts on 12.3.1993 pursuant to the conspiracy hatched. Apart from the argument of Mr. Jaspal Singh relating to a deficiency in the panchnama. Mrs. Farhana Shah, learned counsel appearing for some of the accused has also raised the same contention. 351. Before going into the merits of the oral and documentary evidence led in prosecution, let us consider the salient features of a panchnama and whether the prosecution witnesses strictly adhered to the procedure contemplated for a valid panchnama. Panchnama 352. The primary intention behind the panchnama is to guard against possible tricks and unfair dealings on the part of the officers entrusted with the execution of the search, with or without warrant and also to ensure that anything incriminating which may be said to have been found in the premises searched was really found there and was not int....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ELHI AND OTHERS, wherein, a larger Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed as follows: "25. In that view, even assuming, as was done by the High Court, that the search and seizure were in contravention of the provisions of Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, still the material seized was liable to be used subject to law before the Income tax authorities against the person from whose custody it was seized and, therefore, no Writ of Prohibition in restraint of such use could be granted. It must be, therefore, held that the High Court was right in dismissing the two writ petitions. The appeals must also fail and are dismissed with costs." (B) (2004) 5 SCC 729 (STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE AND OTHERS v. N.M.T. JOY IMMACULATE), wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that 'relevant evidence is not excluded by law on the supposed illegality of the police custody or illegality of the search and seizure." 11. The only point that has to be decided in the present Criminal Original Petition is that in the absence of seizure memo, the entire criminal proceeding initiated against the petitioner is liable to be quashed? 12. It is a humdrum that Sect....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... seizure memo does not vitiate the proceedings. 14. In the instant case, it is an admitted fact that the Investigating Officer has not prepared any seizure memo with regard to tainted money. Only on that basis, present petition has been filed for quashing the entire proceeding of Special Calendar Case No. 3 of 2014. It has already been pointed out that the irregularity put forth on the side of the petitioner does not come within the ambit of Section 461 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Failure to prepare seizure memo is nothing but a flimsy mistake on the part of the Investigating Officer. 15. For better appreciation/adjudication, it would be condign to look into the decision reported in (2002) 4 SCC 380 (Khet Singh v. Union of India), wherein, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that 'when the seizure memo has not been prepared on the spot, but subsequently in the office of the Customs Department, the accused persons had been present throughout, there has been no allegation or suggestion that the contraband article has been in any way meddled with by the officer, the irregularity if any in the search would not vitiate the conviction.' 16. From a mere reading of t....