State Of Maharashtra vs Mohd. Yakub

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

1980 Supreme(SC) 109

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
R.S. SARKARIA AND O. CHINNAPPA REDDY, JJ.**
State of Maharashtra, Appellant
Versus
Mohd. Yakub and others, Respondents.
Criminal Appeal No. 335 of 1974
Decided on 4-3-1980.
Advocates appeared
M/s. O.P. Rana and M.N. Shroff, Advocates, for Appellant; Mr. V.N.Ganpule and Mr. V.B.Joshi, Advocates, for Respondents.
* Criminal Appeal No. 113 of 1972, D/- 1-11-1973 (Bom).
** The Judgments are printed in the order in which they are given in the certified copy. -Ed.

Advocates:
B.R.G.K.Achar, D.P.Singh, M.K.RAMAMURTHY, NIREN DEY, R.K.GARG, S.C.AGRAWAL

Headnote:
Customs Act, 1962 - Sections 7, 5, 8, 33 and 34 - Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947 Sections 3 and 4 - Exchange Regulation Act - Removed Some Small And Heavy Bundles From Truck Secret Information That Silver Would Be Transported In Jeep - A Pistol Knife And Currency Notes Were Found - Silver Ingots Concealed In A Shawl Were Found Saw-Dust Bags - On receiving some secret information that silver would be transported in Jeep and Truck from Bombay to a coastal place Superintendent of Central Excise along with Inspector and staff proceeded in two vehicles to keep a watch on night on National Highway City - At about mid-night aforesaid jeep was seen coming followed by a truck - These two vehicles were proceeding - Officers followed truck and jeep which after travelling some distance came to a fork in road and thereafter instead of taking road leading proceeded on new National Highway leading to village and creek - Ultimately jeep and truck halted near a bridge creek where after accused removed some small and heavy bundles from truck and placed them aside on ground - Customs Officers rushed to spot and accosted persons present there - At same time sound of engine of a mechanised sea-craft from side of creek was heard by officers - Officers surrounded vehicles and found four silver ingots near foot-path leading to creek - Respondent was driver and sole occupant of jeep while other two respondents were driver and cleaner of truck – Held, Let me now state result of search and research - In order to constitute an attempt first there must be an intention to commit a particular offence second some act must have been done which would necessarily have to be done towards commission of offence and third such act must be proximate to intended result - Measure of proximity is not in relation to time and action but in relation to intention - In other words act must reveal with reasonable certainty in conjunction with other facts and circumstances and not necessarily in isolation an intention as distinguish from a mere desire or object to commit particular offence though act by itself may be merely suggestive or indicative of such intention but that it must be that is it must be indicative or suggestive of intention - For instance in instant case had truck been stopped and searched at very commencement of journey or even discovery of silver ingots in truck might at worst lead to inference that accused had prepared or were preparing for commission of offence - Appeal Allowed.

Judgement Key Points

Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, the key points are as follows:

The case involves an attempt to unlawfully export silver ingots from India, which was investigated following secret information about the transportation of silver in a jeep and truck [judgement_subject] (!) .
Law enforcement officers followed the vehicles at night, observed suspicious behavior, and found silver ingots concealed in the vehicles near a creek, along with other items such as a pistol, knife, and currency notes (!) (!) (!) .
The accused persons provided false identities during questioning, indicating consciousness of guilt. The silver was found concealed in different ways—some in shawls and sawdust bags—suggesting clandestine activity (!) (!) .
The prosecution argued that the circumstances demonstrated an intention to export silver unlawfully, and that most steps toward such an export had been taken, with only the final act of loading onto a vessel remaining (!) (!) (!) .
The legal principle for establishing attempt includes: an intention to commit the offence, an act done towards its commission, and that act being proximate to the intended result (!) (!) .
The proximity of the act to the intended offence is evaluated based on whether the act itself clearly indicates the intention and is reasonably close to completing the offence, rather than solely on timing (!) (!) .
The act of unloading silver near a creek and the proximity to a sea craft, combined with the clandestine circumstances and the intent demonstrated by the accused's actions, supported the inference of an attempt to export the silver unlawfully (!) (!) (!) .
The court emphasized that attempts to commit offences, especially smuggling, should be broadly construed to include acts beyond preparation that are reasonably proximate to the completion of the offence, to effectively combat illegal activities (!) (!) .
The appellate court reversed the acquittal of the accused, holding that the evidence sufficiently demonstrated an attempt to export silver, and convicted the accused accordingly (!) (!) .
The judgment underscores that an act need not be the final step but must be a deliberate act indicating clear intention, and that clandestine and nighttime activities are strong indicators of unlawful attempts (!) .

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JUDGMENT

SARKARIA, J.:—This appeal by special leave preferred by the State of Maharashtra, is directed against a judgment, dated November 1, 1973, of the Bombay High Court.

2. Mohd. Yakub respondent 1, Shaikh Jamadar Mithubhai respondent 2, and Issak Hasanali Shaikh respondent 3, were tried in the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Bassein, Bombay, in respect of three sets of offences punishable under Section 135 read with Section 135 (2) of the Customs Act, 1962. The first charge was the violation of sections 12 (1), 23 (1) and 23 (d) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947, the second was violation of Exports (Control) Order No. 1 of 1968 E.T.C. dated March 8, 1968; and the third was the contravention of the provisions of Sections 7, 8, 33 and 34 of the Customs Act, 1962. They were also charged for violation of the Exports (Control Order No. 1/68 E.T.C. dated March 8, 1968 issued under Sections 3 and 4 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947 punishable under Section 5 of the said Act. The gist of the charges was that the respondents attempted to smuggle out of India 43 silver ingots, weighing 1312.410 kgs. worth about Rs. 8 lakhs, in violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, the Imports & Exports (Control) Act, 1947, and the Customs Act.

3. The facts of the case were as follows :-

On receiving some secret information that silver would be transported in Jeep No. MRC 9930 and Truck No,. BMS-796 from Bombay to a coastal place near Bassein, Shri Wagh, Superintendent of Central Excise along with Inspector Dharap and the staff proceeded in two vehicles to keep a watch on the night of September 14, 1968 at Shirsat Naka on the National Highway No.8, Bombay City. At about mid-night, the aforesaid jeep was seen coming from Bombay followed by a truck. These two vehicles were proceeding towards Bassein. The officers followed the truck and the jeep which, after travelling some distance from Shirsat Naka, came to a fork in the road and thereafter instead of taking the road leading to Bassein, proceeded on the new National Highway leading to Kaman village and Ghodbunder creek. Ultimately, the jeep and truck halted near a bridge at Kaman creek where after the accused removed some small and heavy bundles from the truck and placed them aside on the ground. The Customs Officers rushed to the spot and accosted the persons present there. At the same time, the sound of the engine of a mechanised sea-craft from the side of the creek was heard by the officers. The officers surrounded the vehicles and found four silver ingots near foot-path leading to the creek. Respondent 1 was the driver and the sole occupant of the jeep, while the other two respondents were the driver and cleaner of the truck. The officers sent for Kana and Sathe, both residents of Bassein. In their presence respondent 1 was questioned about his identity. He falsely gave his name and address as Mohamed Yusuf s/o Sayyed Ibrahim residing at Kamathipura. From the personal search of respondent 1, a pistol, knife and currency notes of Rs. 2,133/- were found. Fifteen silver ingots concealed in a shawl were found in the rear side of the jeep and twenty-four silver ingots were found laying under saw-dust bags in the truck. The truck and the jeep together with the accused-respondents and the silver ingots were taken to Shirsat Naka where detailed panchanama was drawn up. Respondent 1 had no licence for keeping a pistol. Consequently, the matter was reported to Police Station Bassein, for prosecuting the respondent under the Arms Act.

4. The respondents and the vehicles and the silver ingots were taken to Bombay on Sept. 15, 1968. The statements of the respondents under S. 108 of the Customs Act were recorded by the Shri Wagh. Superintendent of Central Excise. by his order dated May 28, 1969, confiscated the silver ingots. After obtaining the requisite sanction, the Assistant Collector, Central Excise made a complaint against all the three accused in the court of

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