Lakhwinder Kaur vs Asstt. Collr. of Cus.

Sabina, J.

Vide this order above mentioned criminal revision as well as criminal appeal would be disposed of as they have arisen out of the same incident. Prosecution story, in brief, was that on 20-2-1990, on the basis of a specific information, Border Security Force apprehended accused Gurcharan Singh, Amarjit Kaur and Lakhwinder Kaur while travelling on a motorcycle. 213 gold biscuits of foreign origin valuing Rs. 81,95,814/- were recovered 113 gold biscuits were tied around the waist of Amarjit Kaur in a container whereas 100 gold biscuits were tied around the waist of Lakhwinder Kaur in a container. Indian currency to the tune of Rs. 3,032.90 paise, one calculator and a slip written in Punjabi were recovered from accused Gurcharan Singh. The accused along with recovered goods were handed over to the Customs officials on 21-6-1990. Accused suffered confessional statements before the Customs Authorities.

A complaint under Section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") was filed against the accused Gurcharan Singh, Amarjit Kaur, Lakhwinder Kaur, Jaspal Singh @ Bhola and Inderjit Singh. During trial accused Gurcharan Singh and Amarjit Kaur died. The trial Court, vide judgment/order dated 21-3-2002 ordered the conviction and sentence of the accused Lakhwinder Kaur and Inderjit Singh under Section 135 of the Act. So far as the accused Jaspal Singh is concerned, he was declared a proclaimed offender.

In an appeal filed by the accused Lakhwinder Kaur and Inderjit Singh, the appellate Court, vide order dated 12-1-2007, ordered the acquittal of accused Inderjit Singh. So far as the conviction of accused Lakhwinder Kaur under Section 135 of the Act is concerned, the same was upheld. However, sentence qua imprisonment of Lakhwinder Kaur was reduced from 3 years to 1 1/2 years. Hence, the criminal revision has been filed by accused Lakhwinder Kaur whereas criminal appeal has been filed by the Customs department.

Learned counsel for the accused Lakhwinder Kaur has submitted that it was evident from the confessional statements of accused Gurcharan Singh, Amarjit Kaur as well as Lakhwinder Kaur herself that she had been forced to accompany her parents on the day of recovery. Accused Lakhwinder Kaur had protested to her parents that she did not want to accompany them but she was forced by her parents to accompany them. In this situation, learned counsel for the accused Lakhwinder Kaur has not challenged her conviction under Section 135 of the Act but has submitted that the said accused has already undergone more than five months of actual sentence and her sentence qua imprisonment be reduced to the period already undergone by her. Accused Lakhwinder Kaur was unmarried at the time of recovery but now she has got married and has to take care of her three children.

Learned counsel on behalf of accused Inderjit Singh has submitted that so far as the said accused is concerned there was no evidence against him except the confessional statements made by his co-accused. As per the confessional statements suffered by the co-accused of accused Inderjit Singh, gold biscuits were to be supplied to him, however, there was no other evidence on record in this regard. Moreover, the accused Inderjit Singh was not involved in any other such like activity.

Learned counsel for the Customs department has submitted that Inderjit Singh was also liable to be convicted and sentenced qua the offence committed by him. The statements made by the co-accused of accused Inderjit Singh were sufficient evidence to order his conviction. Learned counsel has further submitted that the sentence qua imprisonment of the accused was liable to be enhanced.

In the present case, on the basis of a specific information, accused Gurcharan Singh, Amarjit Kaur and Lakhwinder Kaur were apprehended with 213 gold biscuits of foreign origin. As per the said accused, the gold biscuits were to be supplied to accused Inderjit Singh.

So far as the accused Inderjit Singh is concerned, the only evidence against him is the statements of his co-accused. However, there was no other substantive evidence against accused Inderjit Singh on record. No recovery was affected from the accused Inderjit Singh nor there was any material on record that he was indulging in any similar activities. In these circumstances, learned appellate Court had rightly ordered the acquittal of accused Inderjit Singh.

So far as the accused Lakhwinder Kaur is concerned, it is evident from the statements of her parents as well as her confessional statement that she had been forced to accompany her parents on the day of recovery. In fact, accused Lakhwinder Kaur had told her parents that she did not want to accompany them but under their pressure she was forced to accompany them. Further accused Lakhwinder Kaur was an unmarried girl at the relevant time and had no option but to succumb to the pressure of her parents. Now, Lakhwinder Kaur has got married and she is looking after her family. Learned counsel for the accused Lakhwinder Kaur, during the course of arguments, has submitted that the said accused is not involved in any other criminal case. The recovery was affected in June, 1990. In these circumstances, it would be just and expedient to reduce the sentence qua imprisonment of accused Lakhwinder Kaur to the period already undergone by her.

Accordingly, conviction of accused Lakhwinder Kaur under Section 135 of the Act is upheld. However, the sentence qua imprisonment of accused Lakhwinder Kaur is reduced to the period already undergone by her. The criminal revision No. 681 of 2007 is disposed of in above terms and criminal appeal No. CRA-S-171-SB of 2010 stands dismissed.