TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (3) TMI 205
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.... Customs Act, P.S. G.R.P. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Junction. As per the panchnama that has been enclosed as Annexure No. 1 to the bail application, on 9.12.2019, four gold bars were recovered from the possession of the applicant weighing 1749.910 grams having a total value of Rs. 67,19,655/-. The gold recovered from the possession of the applicant was seized and the applicant was handed over by the G.R.P. Police of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Railway Junction to the officers of Customs Preventive Division, Varanasi on 9.12.2019. The applicant made a voluntary statement on 10.12.2019 that on 6.12.2019, after reaching Bangkok, he made a WhatsApp call to one Mohd. Jaiki who then introduced him to a shop owner in Bangkok over WhatsApp who gav....
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....l Misc. Bail Application No. 42111 of 2019 (Vineet Agrawal Vs. Union of India) to contend that in a similarly situated matter, this Court was pleased to reject the bail application. He strongly opposed the bail application. He has, however, not disputed the fact that this case is covered under the provisions of Section 104(7) of the Customs Act. A perusal of the order passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 42111 of 2019, that has been relied upon by the learned counsel for the Union of India, however, does not reveal whether the provisions of Section 104 of the Customs Act were brought to the notice of the Court or that it was argued before the Court. A perusal of the counter affidavit, on the other hand, reveals that the complaint ....
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.... Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), any offence relating to ? (a) prohibited goods; or (b) evasion or attempted evasion of duty exceeding fifty lakh rupees, shall be cognizable. (5)?Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (4), all other offences under the Act shall be non-cognizable. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of?Criminal Procedure, 1973, (2 of 1974), an offence punishable under section 135 relating to ? (a) evasion or attempted evasion of duty exceeding fifty lakh rupees; or (b) prohibited goods notified under section 11 which are also notified under sub-clause (C) of clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 135; or (c) import or export of any goods which have not been declared in accordance with the pro....
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....-section (7) of Section 104 provides that save as otherwise provided in sub-section (6), all other offences under this Act shall be bailable. Therefore, to demonstrate that the offence of which the applicant is accused of is cognizable, the prosecution is required to demonstrate that the goods that are recovered are prohibited or that the evasion or attempted evasion of duty exceeds fifty lakh rupees. Moreover, to demonstrate that the offence is non-bailable, the prosecution has to demonstrate that the offence punishable under Section 135 of the Customs Act relates to any one of the four clauses mentioned under sub-section (6) (as specified above). A perusal of the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the Union of India reveals that the c....
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.... availing of or attempting to avail of drawback or any exemption from duty referred to in clause (d), if the amount of drawback or exemption from duty exceeds [fifty lakh] of rupees, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and with fine:" In reply to this paragraph, paragraph no. 20 of the counter affidavit reads as follows: "20. That with respect to the content of para 18 of the bail application, it is pertinent to mention that the inquiry is being carried out with respect to the other persons who are engaged in the said act of smuggling alongwith the accused and despite issuance of several summons, they are not co-operating in the inquiry. Granting bail to the accused will give the mastermind(s) behind the said r....