Mohammed Abdul Layeeq vs. The Superintendent Of Customs
Facts
These are two criminal petitions filed under Sections 437 and 439 of the Cr.P.C. seeking regular bail for the petitioners, who are Accused Nos. 1 and 2 in HQPOR No.41/2022-CusPrev. The case was registered by the Superintendent of Customs (Preventive) for an offence under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962. The prosecution alleges that Accused No. 1 arrived from Dubai on 02.06.2022 and handed over a plastic bag containing 2310.88 grams of gold (valued at Rs.99,29,828/-) and another 1256.4 grams of gold (valued at Rs.66,08,664/-) to Accused No. 2, who was working as a sample collecting person at the airport's Covid test centre. The total value of the seized gold is Rs.1,65,38,492/-. The petitioners were arrested on 03.06.2022 and remanded to judicial custody.
Held
The Court allowed the Criminal Petitions and granted bail to the petitioners/Accused Nos. 1 and 2. The Court noted that the petitioners were arrested on 03.06.2022 and no police custody was sought. The investigation involved sending mobile phones to FSL for examination, the report for which was awaited. The Court reasoned that the petitioners would have no say in the FSL tests being undertaken. Therefore, they could be released on bail. The bail was granted subject to the petitioners executing a personal bond of Rs.1,00,000/- each with two sureties for a like sum, appearing before the Superintendent of Customs every Monday for three months, and abiding by other conditions stipulated in Section 437(3) of the Cr.P.C.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to regular bail under Sections 437 and 439 of the Cr.P.C. given their arrest on 03.06.2022 and the seizure of the entire gold. Petitioner's arguments: The petitioners have been in custody since 03.06.2022, the entire gold has been seized, and the officials have not sought police custody for further investigation. Therefore, they should be granted bail. Revenue/State's arguments: The mobile phones have been sent for FSL examination, and the seized quantity of gold is substantial (valued around Rs.1.65 crores). The acts of smuggling gold violate the Customs Act and the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. Consequently, bail should be refused.
Sections Cited
Section 135, Section 77, Section 111, Section 3(2), Section 437, Section 439
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
1 THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K.SURENDER CRIMINAL PETITION NOS.5237 OF 2022 AND 5212 of 2022
COMMON ORDER:
These two Criminal Petitions are filed under Sections 437 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short “Cr.P.C.”) seeking regular bail to the petitioners, who are arrayed as Accused Nos.1 and 2 in HQPOR No.41/2022-CusPrev on the file of Superintendent of Customs (Preventive) Customs Commissionerate, GST Bhavan, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad registered for the offence punishable under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962. 2. Heard Sri.Y.Koteswara Rao, learned counsel for the petitioners/Accused Nos.1 and 2 and Sri.B.Narasimha Sarma, learned standing counsel for Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax Department. Perused the record.
The case of the Superintendent of Customs is that Accused No.1 arrived from Dubai on 02.06.2022 and on suspicion the Intelligence Wing in the Airport observed the movements of the Accused No.1 who entered into the Covid test room and handed over a plastic bag to Accused No.2 who was working as sample collecting person in the covid test centre in the Airport. It was 2 found that Accused No.1 had h
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