IMPORTANT POINT
Investigation and taking of cognizance operate in parallel channels.

JUDGMENT

AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J.

1. The Appellant (hereinafter referred to as “Appellant-Company”) is assailing the Order dated 15.09.2023, wherein the High Court of Gujarat dismissed the Criminal Revision Application No. 783 of 2017 (hereinafter referred to as “CRA No. 783 of 2017”) moved under Section 397 read with Section 401 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as “CrPC 1973”) against the rejection of discharge application moved by the Appellant- Company. The said application was dismissed by the learned Special Judge (CBI) at Ahmedabad (hereinafter referred to as “Special Judge”) vide Order dated 19.07.2017.

2. It is alleged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, being Respondent No. 01 (hereinafter referred to as “Respondent- Agency”), that the Appellant-Company had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Shri Yogendra Garg, Joint Development Commissioner, Kandla Special Economic Zone, Kandla (hereinafter referred to as “KASEZ”), and Shri V.N. Jahagirdar, Deputy Commissioner of Customs, KASEZ, between the period from March 2001 to August 2004. It is alleged that the latter officials perverted their official positions and allowed the Appellant-Company to clear its goods into the Indian Market on payment of Countervailing Duty (hereinafter referred to as “CVD”) on the invoice value of the concerned goods, rather than the payment of the CVD on the Maximum Retail Price (hereinafter referred to as “MRP”) of the said goods, thereby causing a wrongful gain to themselves and a corresponding wrongful loss to the Government exchequer to the tune of INR 8,00,00,000/- (Rupees Eight Crores only).

3. Before pursuing the aftermath of the allegations by the Respondent-Agency, it is crucial to delve into the backdrop in which the allegations arose against the Appellant-Company.

4. The Appellant-Company claims to be a private limited company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, which is engaged in manufacturing and exporting of cosmetics and toilet preparations and having one of its units in KASEZ. As per the Appellant-Company, its products get cleared from the KASEZ Unit into the Domestic Tariff Area (hereinafter referred to as “DTA”) in consonance with the necessary permissions granted to it by the appropriate authority. It is its case that it had effected the following three kinds of clearances from its KASEZ Unit into the DTA, being (a) Clearances of goods weighing or containing less than 20 gram or 20 millilitre, (b) products containing alcohol, and (c) other goods in “Wholesale Packs”.

5. From August 2004 onwards, Officers of the Kandla Customs (hereinafter referred as “Revenue Authorities”) moved against the Appellant-Company, alleging that they had escaped payment of CVD on the aforementioned clearances on account of non-disclosure of MRP as per the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as “SWM Act 1976”) as they had declared only the invoice value of the said goods. This was a violation of the proviso to Section 3(2) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as “CT Act 1975”) read with Section 4A(2) of the Central Excise Act, 1944 (hereinafter referred to as “CE Act 1944”), and on the said ground, goods being cleared by the Appellant-Company into the DTA were intercepted. The Revenue Authorities issued Show Cause Notices dated 03.11.2004, 10.11.2004, and 10.02.2005 (along with Corrigendum dated 11.03.2005) under Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as “CA 1962”), under Section 11A of the CE Act 1944, and under Section 124 of CA 1962 respectively.

6. Thereafter, pursuant to the said allegation based on source information to Respondent- Agency, First Information Report bearing number RC-6(A)/2005-GNR under Section 120B read with Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “IPC 1860”) and Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 (hereinafter referred to as “PCA 1998”) w