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Najir vs. Commissioner of Customs

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2026:DHC:7358-DBDecided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C) 16994/2025CNR: DLHC010874872025
Justice Anil Kshetarpal · Justice Shail Jain

Background

Three gold bars weighing 93 grams, concealed in a belt, were detained from the petitioner at IGI Airport in January 2024 after a Green Channel violation. He gave a statement under Section 108 admitting concealment and intentional non-declaration, and stating he did not need a show cause notice or personal hearing. He later sought unconditional release of the gold in the High Court, arguing no written show cause notice was issued within the statutory period under Section 110(2), and that his statement was coerced.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that whether a valid oral show cause notice under Section 124 was given, and whether the petitioner's statement was voluntary, were disputed factual questions unsuitable for writ adjudication, noting Customs had specifically placed on record a proceedings chart recording the date of an oral show cause notice. It declined to apply the Supreme Court's Jatin Ahuja ruling (which applies where the notice requirement was genuinely not complied with) to order unconditional release, and instead directed Customs to grant the petitioner a personal hearing and decide the matter within four weeks of his appearance, leaving all factual and legal questions, including the coercion allegation, open for the adjudicating authority.

Lesson Learnt

The absence of a formal written customs show cause notice does not by itself entitle a passenger to release of seized goods if the department can show an oral notice/proceeding took place: such disputes, including any claim that a statement was coerced, must be raised before the customs adjudicating authority rather than expecting the High Court to order release on that technicality alone.

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