Mere Natural Justice Violation Claim Cannot Bypass Customs Appeal Remedy: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has recently held that a mere assertion of violation of principles of natural justice cannot, by itself, justify bypassing the statutory appellate remedy under the Customs Act, 1962.
The Division Bench of Justices Anil Khetarpal and Shail Jain made the observation while declining to entertain a writ petition challenging the absolute confiscation of a 117-gram gold bar by Customs authorities.
Petitioner contended that no valid Show Cause Notice was issued before confiscation and that the alleged waiver of the Show Cause Notice and personal hearing could not dispense with Section 124 requirements.
Customs, however, relied on Petitioner's statement and asserted that an oral Show Cause Notice had been issued.
The Court noted that the challenge raised disputed factual questions, including whether the Section 108 statement was voluntary, whether an oral Show Cause Notice was given, and whether the petitioner consciously waived his right to a personal hearing.
Such questions, it said, were more appropriately examined by the statutory appellate authority.
“These questions cannot be divorced from the factual record of the adjudication proceedings. In particular, the rival contentions regarding the circumstances in which the statement was recorded and the precise nature of the communication made to the Petitioner would require examination of the contemporaneous record,” the Court said.
It added, “The mere assertion that the impugned Order-in-Original has been passed in breach of principles of natural justice cannot, in the facts of the present case, be treated as sufficient to bypass the statutory appellate remedy.”
As such, the Court disposed of the petition.
For Petitioner: Advocate Ashutosh, Advocate Fatima, Advocate Rohit Swarup, Advocate Dalip Singh, Advocate Avinash Kumar Singh, Advocate Pravej Hasan, Advocate Abhijeet Sagar, and Advocate S. Vijaykanth.
For Respondent: Senior Standing Counsel Gibran Naushad, along with Advocate Suraj Shekhar Singh, Advocate Hasan Haider and Advocate Anish Mishra.