STATE OF GUJARAT vs MOHANLAL JITAMALJIPORWAL & ANR.

The Supreme Court held that the presumption under Section 123 of the Customs Act, 1962, regarding the seized article being smuggled gold, was improperly dismissed by the High Court. The Court clarified that if there are prima facie grounds for a Customs officer's reasonable belief that goods are smuggled, such belief must be accepted by the courts. The respondent's act of coating pure gold with mercury to disguise it as silver constituted sufficient grounds for suspicion, thereby shifting the burden of proof to the respondent to demonstrate that the gold was not smuggled. The appeal by the State was allowed, overturning the High Court's acquittal of the accused.