Judgment :-

D.K. JAIN, J.

1. This appeal, by special leave, is directed against the final judgment and order dated 23rd April, 2002 rendered by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No.633 of 2002, whereby the High Court has dismissed the writ petition, affirming the decision of the Settlement Commission, Customs and Central Excise, Mumbai (hereinafter referred to as, "the Settlement Commission").

2. The facts, giving rise to the present appeal, may be summarised thus:

The appellant is an importer and ship repair unit registered with the Director General of Shipping, Government of India. On the basis of the intelligence gathered, premises of the appellant were searched by the officers of the Customs Commissionerate, Mumbai in December, 1997, resulting in the recovery of incriminating documents. The investigations revealed that the appellant had clandestinely availed of benefit of import duty Exemption Notification No.211/83-Cus dated 23rd July, 1983, as amended, on the import of multiple consignments of engineering cargo as "Ship Spares". Based on the material collected in the course of investigations, two show cause notices dated 29th December, 1997 and 17th June,