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Mohammad Nawab Khan (Through His Wife Fareeda Begum) vs. Commissioner of Customs

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7360-DBDecided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 18202/2025CNR: DLHC010959202025
Justice Anil Kshetarpal · Justice Shail Jain

Background

The petitioner was found carrying a 117-gram gold bar, which Customs detained on 28.01.2024 and, after recording a statement under Section 108 of the Customs Act (in which he reportedly said he did not need a Show Cause Notice or hearing), passed an Order-in-Original on 15.04.2024 absolutely confiscating the gold. The petitioner directly challenged this Order-in-Original by writ petition, without first pursuing a statutory appeal, arguing the alleged waiver could not validly dispense with the mandatory Show Cause Notice requirement.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that since the Customs Act provides a complete statutory appellate mechanism against an Order-in-Original, covering exactly the issues the petitioner raised, including compliance with Section 124 and the validity of the Section 108 statement, and since these involved disputed facts about the circumstances of the statement and any oral notice, the case did not warrant bypassing that remedy through writ jurisdiction under Article 226. Citing Whirlpool Corporation v. Registrar of Trade Marks, the Court noted natural-justice violations can justify writ intervention, but merely alleging such a violation does not automatically entitle a petitioner to skip the statutory appeal when the underlying facts are contested. The petition was disposed of with liberty to file a statutory appeal within four weeks, with directions that limitation not be held against the petitioner for time spent in this Court.

Lesson Learnt

Simply labelling a grievance as a "natural justice violation" does not automatically open the door to High Court writ jurisdiction: if the dispute turns on contested facts that a statutory appellate body is equipped to examine, courts will typically direct the litigant to that forum first.

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