Law: Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947

Section: 5(1),5(c),23

Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (VII of 1947)-----S. 5(1)(c) read with S. 23-Burden to prove that person, at whose behest payment was made, was within mischief of S.5(1)(c) lies on Prosecution.     Date of hearing: 28th February 1964.   JUDGMENT   The appellant was convicted by Foreign Exchange Regulation Tribunal, Karachi for offence under section 5 (1) (c) r/w section 23, Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (VII of 1947), on 15-9-62, and sentenced to suffer one year's R. I. and also to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000 or suffer 6 months' R. I. further in default of the payment of fine. He has appealed to this Court.   The evidence against the appellant consists of personal testimony of 3 eye-witnesses P. W. 5 Manzur Ahmed,P. W. 6 Nasim Ahmed and P. W. 7 Shaikh Muhammad Umer. Manzur Ahmed stated that his son Iqbal a doctor in Dubai in Persian Gulf sent him Rs. 400 which was received at his house in Karachi in his absence in September 1961. He has not directly involved the appellant as being the person who had paid the amount at his house in his absence P. W. 6 Nasim Ahmed stated that his `Khalu' Iqbal who lives at Dubai sent him a letter Exh. 6/A advising that the amount of Rs. 400 was being sent. The letter Exh. 6/A bears no date but its envelope Exh. 6/B is stamped on 20-9-61 at Karachi. In this letter there were two chits for Rs. 400 and 300 respectively along with the addresses on them from where these amounts were to be collected. Nasim stated that one person came the next day and gave him Rs. 400 for which he had passed a receipt Exh. 1/F shown to him in Court. The witness could not say with certainty if the accused was the person who had paid him this amount. The evidence to connect the accused with this payment is founded on the following circumstances.   Exhibit 1/F was intercepted by the police in the post office at Karachi in a letter addressed to one Yousuf Haji Dada in an envelope Exh. 1/C. Also enclosed in this envelope was a letter Exh. 1/B in Gujrati. This letter Exh. 1/B shows the names of the three prosecution witnesses Manzur Ahmed, Nasim Ahmed and Shaikh Muhammad Umar to whom the amounts of Rs. 400, 400 and 500…