TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1991 (6) TMI 255
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.... dismissed by the Foreign Exchange Regulation Appellate Board. Against that order the petitioner filed the appeal in C.M.A. 409 of 1980 under S. 54 of the Act, before this court. The said appeal was allowed by the Division Bench of this Court on 21-12-1984 (reported in 1986 Cri LJ 647 (Mad)). Against the judgment of this court in C.M.A. 409 of 1980, the respondent filed a petition for Special Leave to appeal in S.L.P. 5802 of 1985 before the Supreme Court. The said Special Leave petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court on 7-9-1987. In the meantime, the petitioner filed contempt Application No. 264 of 1987 before this court against the respondent for not complying with the directions by this Court in C.M.A. 409 of 1980 by returning the seized amount of ₹ 29,176/- and ₹ 10,000/-, being the penalty paid by him. Subsequently the sum of ₹ 10,000/- deposited by the petitioner as penalty and the seized amount of ₹ 29,176/- together with interest on ₹ 2493/- were refunded to the petitioner on 21-12-87. The said interest of ₹ 2493/- was allowed by the bankers on the seized amount of ₹ 29,176/- from the date of seizure till its confiscation. The D....
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....in C.M.A. 409 of 1980 immediately, because a Special Leave Petition was filed before the Supreme Court against the judgment in C.M.A. No. 409 of 1980 and that the respondent was waiting for the orders of the Supreme Court on the Special Leave Petition, and as soon as the Special Leave Petition was dismissed, the respondent complied with the directions given by this Court in C.M.A. No. 409 of 1980 by returning to the petitioner on 21-12-1987 a sum of ₹ 41,669/-. 4. The following two points arise for consideration in this writ petition :- (1) Whether the petitioner is entitled to interest at the rate of 6% per annum on the amount of ₹ 29,176/- from 25-4-1970 and on the penalty amount of ₹ 10,000/- collected from the petitioner, from the date of collection till 21-12-1984 i.e., the date of the judgment in C.M.A. 409 of 1980, under section 42(3) of the Act, and interest at the rate of 15% per annum on ₹ 68,258/- from 21-12-1984 till the date of payment as claimed in the writ petition ? (2) To what relief if any the petitioner is entitled to in this writ petition ? 5. POINT No. 1 :- Mr. N. A. K. Sharma, learned counsel for the petitioner contended that on 2....
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....s. Currency notes seized from the petitioner cannot be considered either as a draft, cheque, traveller's cheque or other instruments referred to in Section 42. Section 42(3) of the Act provides for payment of interest and Section 42(3) reads thus :- "Where a direction is made under section 63 or an order has been made under the Customs Act, 1962 to confiscated any draft, cheque (including traveller's cheque) or other instrument the proceeds of which have been realised under sub-section (1), such proceeds shall vest in the Central Government and in all other cases such proceeds shall be paid to such person as may appear to the officer or the Court, who or which made the direction under sub-section (1), to be entitled thereto in such currency and in such manner as he or it deems just together with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the date on which such draft, cheque (including traveller's cheque) or other instrument came into his or its custody till the date of payment." Sub-section (3) of Section 42 must be read along with sub-sections (1) and (2) of Section 42. Section 42(1) provides for encashment of seized draft, cheque, (including trav....
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....ondent Section 42 of the Act has been envisaged with the object of avoiding all the drafts, cheques and traveller's cheques or other instruments getting invalid or stale after the prescribed period. Further Section 42(2) of the Act speaks about the deposit of amounts realised by way of encashment of the drafts, cheques, traveller's cheques and other instruments in a separate account to be maintained in the prescribed manner which would necessarily fetch interest. There is no provision in the Act for depositing the seized currency notes in a separate account and therefore the claim for interest on the seized currency notes from the petitioner cannot be countenanced. As already pointed out, Section 42 refers only to drafts, cheques, and other instruments and it does not refer to currency notes at all. In these circumstances, it has to be concluded that Section 42(3) does not provide for payment of interest on currency notes confiscated and the penalty collected from the petitioner when the order of confiscation of currency notes and the imposition of penalty by the departmental authority is set aside by the Court and when the Court directs the refund of the currency notes con....
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....ed in withholding the payment of the amount ordered to be refunded to the petitioner by the judgment of this Court in C.M.A. 409 of 1980 dated 21-12-1984 till 21-12-1987 ? Whether it is a fit case where the respondent should be directed to pay interest on the amount directed to be refunded by the judgment in C.M.A. 409 of 1980 from the date of judgment till the date of actual payment of the amount on 21-12-1987 ? This Court by the judgment in C.M.A. 409 of 1980 dated 21-12-1984 directed the respondent to refund the confiscated amount and the penalty collected from the petitioner. The sum of ₹ 29,176/- seized from the petitioner was ordered to be confiscated by the departmental authorities on 31-12-1976. The petitioner also paid a sum of ₹ 10,000/- as penalty on various dates. Admittedly the respondent refunded a sum of ₹ 41,669/- made up of the confiscated amount of ₹ 29,176/-, ₹ 10,000/- collected from the petitioner as penalty and ₹ 2493/- the interest on ₹ 29,176/- from the date of seizure till the date of confiscation allowed by the banker only on 21-12-1987. The case of the respondent for not paying the amount ordered to be refunded to....