An anticipatory bail was denied to gold smuggling suspect who alleged to be smuggled 1.9kg gold. The Patna high Court, considering the submissions of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI ) , refused to grant the bail.
The petitioner was arrested for the Economic Offences (Customs) and faces charges under Sections 135(1)(a) and 135(1)(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, for violations of Sections 7, 46, and 47 of the Act, as well as Section 3(2) of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. These charges are being heard before the Special Judge Economic Offences in Patna.
Adv. Akhilesh Verma, the counsel for the petitioner submitted that he has a clean record and claimed that the petitioner was falsely implicated by the informant. They contended that under Section 135 of the Customs Act, seizures involving gold valued up to Rs.1 crore are bailable.
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The petitioner’s counsel added that the gold was seized from three different locations, totaling 1982.340 grams, and argued that the case was based on a confessional statement of an apprehended accused, which lacks evidentiary value.
The counsel also referenced a previous case (Raj Kumar Vs. The Union of India & Ors.) where anticipatory bail was granted based on similar circumstances, seeking parity for the petitioner.
However, the Respondent- DRI’s counsel countered that the previous case involved a businessman who had documented evidence of legal gold transactions and payment of income tax. In contrast, the current petitioner provided no such evidence of legitimate gold dealings or business activities.
Justice Satyavrat Verma of Patna High Court, considering the arguments of the DRI’s counsel, decided not to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner, citing insufficient evidence and lack of documentation to support the petitioner’s claims of lawful business. Consequently, the petition for anticipatory bail was rejected.
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