ORDER
S.S. Sekhon, Member (T)
1. The brief facts, which led to this appeal, are that on 9.4.97 Customs Officers at Chennai International Airport Intercepted a passenger and searched the baggage and found foreign currencies totally equivalent to Indian Rupees 1,42,48,075.50 placed in three bundles including Kitkat Chocolate carton found in the baggage. The passenger Smt. Hari Ram Singh alias K. Kanniammal holder of a Singapore Passport and on that date she was proceeding for Security check after Immigration and Customs clearance to board a flight for a Singapore. She was intercepted by the officers and her baggage was searched. She in her statements, recorded immediately after the mahazar was completed, revealed that one Swami of Singapore and introduced her to a person name Babu who had requested her to take said foreign currencies bundles out of India for a remuneration of 5000 Singapore dollars and that such three bundles, containing Foreign Currencies which was recovered, were handed over to her on by Babu. Further inquiries were made and it was revealed that this passenger was a frequent visitor to India, on a mission to visit a ashram in Tamilnadu and also was admitted career of 10 kgs. of gold in the earlier trip for monetary gain. She also revealed that she on earlier occasion, and this time had stayed in Chennai the premises of the said Babu situated at Ramanathan Street, T. Nagar, Chennai-17 before her departure to Singapore. She had arrived in India on 4.4.1997 to undertake some medical check ups and had stayed at the above-said premises and Babu and proposed to her to take foreign currencies for consideration of 5000 Singapore dollars which she had agreed to and as per the said agreement three bundles were handed to her at around 09:00 p.m. on 9.4.97 which she had placed in her suitcase and she was dropped by Babu at the airport for departure to Singapore, the said currency given by Babu was the currency under seizure and she had no permit for the legitimate export of the said currency. She further identified the premises as No. 6/3, Ramanathan Street T. Nagar, Chennai as the place where she stayed and where the assorted currencies were handed over to her. In her further statement she has admitted and confirmed the handing over of the currency by Babu at No. 6/3, Ramanathan Street, T. Nagar who had also provided her with telephone numbers of Babu’s friend Amudharajan and certain other numbers and gave a description of Babu. Follow-up inquiries were conducted. One Babu residing at No. 5, Ramanathan Street, T. Nagar, Chennai, who was identified to be S. M. Mohammed Ghouse, was detected by the officers and produced before the passenger. She did not identify that person to be Babu who had given the seized currency. Further inquiries made revealed that the premises No. 6/3 Ramanathan Street, T. Nagar where let out to one S. M. Jahubar Sathik alias Babu, aged 32 years who had given his address as Proprietor, Nisha Jewellers, 146, NSC Bose Road, First Floor, Chennai – 79 and his permanent address as 28-A, EASA Thandayal Street, Keelakarai, Ramnad District; a photograph of this Babu, for the xerox copies of certificate of registration of Nisha Jewellers was obtained. Shri Amudharajan was located and he responded to the summons and identified the photograph of Jahubar Sathik alias Babu and confirmed that the same Babu went with the passenger when she was to leave for Singapore in the Taxi alongwith another person and submitted that the other person and he himself (Amudharajan) got dropped on the way to Airport and Babu and the passenger went to the airport in a taxi on 9.4.97. Jahubar Sathik alias Babu was found to be absconding from his known places and the addresses. Finally he was located, he admitted that he was receiving passengers sent from Singapore, who were careers of gold and the premise No. 6/3, Ramanathan Street, T. Nagar, Chennai were hired by him for lodging of such passengers coming from Singapore. He was claiming that the gold brought by such passengers from Singapore claimed by him to be duty paid was obtained and sold the sale proceeds were thereafter given to these persons from Singapore. He denies having given the foreign currencies under seize, but does not deny having accompanied the passenger upto the airport, which stands corroborated by the statement of Amudhrajan and the passenger.
2. Proceedings were launched and the currency was confiscated, the passenger was penalised Rs. 50,000 under Section 114(i) of the Customs Act and penalty of Rs. 5.00 lakhs on Jahubar Sathik alias Babu under Section 114 of the Customs Act, 1962 was imposed. The passenger’s appeals was dismissed. The present appeal is by Jahubar Sathik alias Babu.
3. After hearing both sides and considering the pleas made, we find:- (a) there is an admitted position of the premises where the persons bringing gold from Singapore were lodged and they Were given sale proceeds of such gold by Babu. These premises were allotted to the passenger from Singapore, who was intercepted with the foreign currency, that passengers had stayed at these premises and admittedly received the currency bundles at these premises, (b) The movement of appellant now before us and the passenger on 9.4.97 in a taxi, from the premises hired by the appellant upto Chennai International Airport is corroborated. The money has been explained by the passenger to have been handed over by Babu for a consideration of 5000 Singapore dollars. Retractions subsequently made and the cross-examination result of the passenger before the adjudicator do not enthuse us to accept the plea that the present appellant was not having any knowledge or pre-concert about the currency found liable to confiscation by the Commissioner, (c) The passenger has not admitted and recognised any other ‘Babu’ but has recognised this Babu now in appeal before us, who is found circumstantially well connected with the passenger, the premises were the passenger stayed, and has been identified to have given the money of over Rs. one crore in bundles found placed in the baggage and escorted the same and the passenger right upto the International Airport: (d) We find in the circumstances of this case that the charges oh the present appellant have to be upheld along with imposing of penalty on confiscation of the currency under the provisions of Customs Act to be well established. The consequent imposition of penalty are therefore upheld. However, we find that the penalty of Rs. 5.00 lakhs imposed on him is on the higher side as there is no material on record to find him to be the king-pin in this attempt to export foreign currency and gold in violation of law. We reduce the penalty from Rs. 5.00 lakhs to Rs. 2.00 lakhs on the appellant i.e. Jahubar Sathik alias Babu.
4. The appeal is disposed of in the above terms.
5. Ordered accordingly.