The complainant, the Assistant Collector of Customs (Prosecution), Preventive Department, Customs House, Madras-1, is the appellant. Tey Teck Seng, a Chinese National, is the accused/respondent in this appeal. This appeal is filed under Section 378 Cr.P.C. against the order of acquittal made in O.C. No. 109/86 on the file of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (E.C. II), Egmore, Madras.

2.The accused was prosecuted for an offence punishable under Section 135(l)(a)(i) of the Customs Act on the allegation that on the arrival of the accused from Singapore at Meenambakkam Airport, Madras on 18-10-1985, when his person was searched, two gold biscuits each weighing 10 tolas with foreign markings were recovered from a purse; that two similar gold biscuits were recovered from each of the chappals he was wearing, that the accused had no valid permit of the Reserve Bank of India, that the accused attempted to smuggle the same into India without declaring them and that the market value of the gold was Rs. 1, 02, 630/-.

3.Four witnesses were examined on the side of the prosecution as P.Ws. 1 to 4 and Exs. P-1 to P-10 were marked. M.Os. 1 to 4 were also marked by the prosecut