TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (1) TMI 503
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....1996, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit-1, Sahar Airport, Mumbai intercepted two passengers by name Arvind Vyas (Accused No.1) and Shri Suresh Kumar Parmar (Accused No.2) while they were proceeding to board Emirates Flight No.501 from Bombay to Dubai. The passengers had completed their Immigration and custom formalities and on being questioned and interrogated the accused No.1 stated that he had inserted bundles containing foreign currencies inside his rectum and swollen capsules containing foreign currencies. He stated that he was accompanied by accused no.2 and he also admitted that he had concealed foreign currency in his hand bag. On search, the currencies were found to be concealed in 200 hollow metallic buttons which were stuck on....
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....ccused no.1 was arranged by the said person. He gave an admission that he was accompanying the accused no.1 Arvind Vyas to ensure the said delivery of foreign currencies at Dubai. 4. A complaint came to be lodged by the Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Airport) alleging that the passengers were carrying the currency without permission from the Reserve Bank of India for its export and this act was prohibited under Section 13(2) of the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, 1973 read with notification dated 1st January 1994 issued by the RBI. The prohibition was imposed under Section 67 of the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act and it was deemed to be a prohibition under Section 11 of the Customs Act 1962. The complaint alleged that the accused....
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.... on their retracted statement and alleged that they were assaulted by the officers of the Investigating Agency and in fact the accused no.1 was also sent to St.George Hospital for medical examination. 6 On scanning through the oral as well as documentary evidence placed before the Addl. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to establish the guilt of the accused, the learned Judge deciphered the case of Accused nos.1 and 2. As far as accused no.2 is concerned, he recorded that accused no.2 was prosecuted on the strength of so-called retracted confessional statement and further recorded that the seized foreign currency was found neither on the person of the said accused nor in his baggage, meaning thereby that no foreign currency is seized from hi....
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....t has come on record that no incriminating material was found either on the person of the accused no.2 or from his baggage. The only material is sought to be relied upon is his statement recorded on 24th March 1996 which is subsequently retracted. The Appeal is premised on the ground that the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate has failed to accord any weightage to the said statement wherein the accused has confessed that he had met one Gurmit Singh and he acted as a carrier for smuggling the foreign currency and he also agreed to accompany the accused no.1 who was to act as a carrier to ensure the safe delivery of the foreign currency at Dubai. He also admitted that he had given an amount of Rs. 12 lakhs to Gurmit Singh on 16th March 199....