TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (8) TMI 77
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....se No. 80798 of 2022 (DRI Case No. 13 of 2021), under Section 135 of the Customs Act Police Station DRI Lucknow, Zonal Unit, during pendency of trial. The brief facts against the applicant are that during search ,the officers of Director General G.S.T. Intelligence (DGGI) Ahmedabad,/Zonal Unit Ahmedabad at the premises of M/s Odochem Industries , Jain Street , Kannuaj , U.P., also Housing residence of the applicant , 32 foreign original gold bars , weighing approximately 23 Kgs., were recovered on 27.12.2021. The brand of foreign making were found on some of gold bars. The applicant could not produce any document for possessing foreign original gold bars. The government valuer certified gold bars as 24 carats gold. The officers of DGGI hav....
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....sport and will comply the conditions as may be imposed by this court. Learned counsel for the applicant has relied upon the case laws, Shevantilal Karsondas Modi Vs. The State of Maharasashtra and another, (1979),2 Supreme Court Cases,58; Noor Aga Vs. State of Punjab and another, (2008) 16, Supreme Court Cases,417; Union of India Vs. Kisan Ratan Singh and others,(2020) 372 ELT, 714; Gopi Chand Soni Vs. CESTAT, 2011 SCC Online All, 2358 Learned counsel for the opposite party, Shri Dhanjay Awasthi, has vehemently opposed the bail application and relying on his counter affidavit he has submitted that illegal gold of foreign marking and cash has been recovered from the applicant. The sanctioning authority has directed the prosecution of the a....
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.... of the Customs Act unless it was established by reliable evidence that gold was smuggled and brought by the applicant or by his agent. Finally in the case of Sevvantilal Karsondas(supra) the Apex Court held that confession made before Customs officer as a result coercion cannot be basis of conviction under section 135(1) (a) (b) of the Customs Act. In the judgement in the case of Zaki Ishrathi (Supra) relied upon by the learned counsel for the opposite party, this court found that since the accused did not recorded his retraction of admission before the Revenue Authorities on production before the Magistrate when he was produced before him therefore it could at best be treated as representation/complaint to the Collector Central Excise . ....
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....ct section 123 of Customs Act,1962, it is essential that goods must be smuggled.It means goods of foreign origin and imported from abroad .There must be something proving their importation from abroad.Only an account of being unaccounted they cannot be inferred to be smuggled, they may be stolen too. Applicant claims that he has no passport and will not leave the country his whole family and business is at Kannuaj and Kanpur. There is no possibility of tampering with witnesses .He has no criminal history and therefore as per the judgement of the Apex Court in Sanjay Chandra vs C.B.I., 2012 Volume (1) SCC,40 bail cannot be refused to the applicant only because of being involved in economic offence and it would not be in the interest of justi....
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....ating the scales of justice". 25. The provision of Cr.P.C. confer discretionary jurisdiction on criminal courts to grant bail to the accused pending trial or in appeal against convictions; since the jurisdiction is discretionary, it has to be exercised with great care and caution by balancing the valuable right of liberty of an individual and the interest of the society in general. In our view, the reasoning adopted by the learned District Judge, which is affirmed by the High Court, in our opinion, is a denial of the whole basis of our system of law and normal rule of bail system. It transcends respect for the requirement that a man shall be considered innocent until he is found guilty. If such power is recognised, then it may lead to cha....