Electronic evidence and retracted statements under FEMA upheld, but penalties were reduced for excessive quantum.

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....Electronic records seized from a third party, including pen-drive data and printouts, were treated as admissible and authentic because the statutory presumption attached to seized documents extended to electronic material and no contemporaneous challenge to seizure or contents was raised. Retraction of statements was rejected because a bare denial without proof of involuntariness carries no weight, and the statements were corroborated by independent material; minor spelling variations in the name were held to be only phonetic or clerical. The Tribunal also held that the time requirement under FEMA section 16(6) was advisory, so delay did not vitiate the adjudication. Contraventions under FEMA were upheld, but the penalties were reduced to 20% of the amounts imposed.....