Seized goods as per belief of customs officials were smuggled goods.

The Judgment was delivered by ON SIGHTING SUCH A VEHICLE, THE SAID PERSONNEL STOPPED THE SAME AND ON EXAMINATION, THEY FOUND ONLY CLOVES BEING STREWN AND SPILLED IN THE LORRY. THEY, IT IS SAID, INTERROGATED ONE J.

The Customs and Central Excise Personnel, attached to the Customs Preventive Unit, Nagercoil, on credible information regarding the alleged clandestine transport of smuggled cloves from Tharvaikulam to Kunjanvilai sent by one Thangadurai and Thangaraji of Tuticorin to one Sundar of Nagercoil through lorry bearing registration number TDS 1332, rushed to Valliyoor on 10-2-1992 and kept a watch for the arrival of the suspected vehicle. On sighting such a vehicle, the said personnel stopped the same and on examination, they found only cloves being strewn and spilled in the lorry. They, it is said, interrogated one J.

Royappan, the driver and one Senthil, elder brother's son of the aforesaid Thangaraj, cleaner of the lorry and on such interrogation, they derived solidified satisfaction as to the veracity of the information earlier received, on their making a frank and true disclosure of what all transpired. They, it is said discharged the said cloves in the godown at Door No. 203/1-A1, Kunjanvilai, Nagercoil belonging to the said Sundar. The Customs personnel therefore took the lorry into their possession.

2. They then proceeded to the godown, accompanied by the said driver and the cleaner and found the said godown locked. None-the-less, they were able to perceive the presence of certain persons inside the godown engaged at work, through the intermittent space available between the doors at the entrance. Those persons at work, sensing the presence of the Customs personnel, were stated to have fled from the scene, by scaling over the rear wall of the godown. The Customs Personnel, it is said, informed the developments to the Assistant Collector, Tuticorin, who, in turn, it is said, instructed the Customs Preventive Unit, Nagercoil to rush to the spot with men and materials to break open the lock of the godown under his warrant being sent and to seize the suspected contraband cloves, by taking all steps.

3. Accordingly the Superintendent of Customs and Central Excise, Customs Prevention Unit, Nagercoil, rushed to the spot, accompanied by the personnel of the Department. Steps were also stated to have been taken to fetch Sundar, the owner of the godown, who was stated to transacting business in cloves and other allied products, in the name and style "Sunrise Agencies : Nagercoil". To the dismay of the officials, the premises of "Sunrise Agencies" Nagercoil was found locked and the owner, namely, Sundar could not be traced out. In such a situation, there was no other go for the customs personnel, except to break open the lock of the said godown, in the presence of witnesses.

4. On such breaking open, the driver, it is said, pointed out the cloves heaped inside the godown in a wet condition to be those discharged by him from the lorry in question, sometime prior to his interception. The cloves were sized under the cover of a mahazar in the presence of witnesses. The seized contraband cloves, it is said, weighed 3, 700 kilograms, valued about Rs. 7, 40, 000/-.

5. Deriving subjective satisfaction as to the contraband cloves having been smuggled into India from Sri Lanka illicitly, a case has been registered in O.R. no. 2 of 1992 by the Superintendent of Central Excise and Customs, Customs Preventive Unit, Nagercoil under S. 11 of the Customs Act, 1962 read with S. 3(1) of the Imports and Exports Control Act, 1947 and investigation had been taken up. The driver and cleaner of the lorry had been taken into custody and produced before Court for the purpose of remand. Further investigation was in progress.

6. The owner of the godown, namely Sunder filed Crl.M.P. No. 222 of 1992 on the file of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Madurai under S. 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act II of 1974 - for the short 't