The proceedings impugned in the present writ petition are those under S. 112 of the Customs Act 52 of 1962, hereinafter referred to as the Act. The facts leading to the action against the petitioner are as follows :

1. On 20th October, 1973, the Central Excise Officers, Coimbatore, intercepted one Chand Mohamed after he got out of Madras Cochin Kerala Express and on search of his person and his baggage, found 235 wrist watches of foreign origin concealed and they also found a slip of paper on which the address and telephone number of the petitioner were written. The said Chand Mohamed gave a statement that the watches recovered from him were intended for delivery to the petitioner and that he had brought them from Bombay where he had received them from a person known as Radhakrishnan. The officers went to the premises of the petitioner on the same day and found him with another person by name Verghese. The said Verghese was subjected to search and seven wrist watches of foreign origin were recovered from him. The said Verghese gave a statement that the watches recovered from him were purchased from the petitioner. Two rose coloured hoses were recovered from the premises