1.2 Kg Gold Seized Illegally From Sri Lankan Citizen: Madras HC Directs Customs Authority to Decide Matter [Read Order]

The Madras High Court directed the Customs authority to decide the matter as the department had illegally seized 1.2 Kg of gold from Sri Lankan Citizen.

Mohamed Fazaldeen, the petitioner filed writ petition to direct the respondent to consider the petitioner's representation and to release the 1.2 Kg of Gold to the petitioner, which was illegally seized and detained by the officials.

The petitioner is a Srilankan citizen and he was travelling from Dubai to Colombo via Chennai as a transit passenger in an Indigo Flight. When he was at Chennai International Airport to catch Flight No.6E1171 to Colombo on 03.08.2023 at 1:00 am, some persons, in plain cloth without any uniform, had illegally seized the passport and 1.2 Kg of gold from the petitioner. Thereafter, they had only handed over the passport to the petitioner and permitted him to travel to Colombu on another flight on 04.08.2023. However, they had detained the 1.2 Kg of gold, which was seized from the petitioner.

The petitioner contended that the respondent had illegally seized 1.2 kg of gold from the petitioner without following any procedures provided under the provisions of the Customs Act. Further, he contended that even though a representation was made by the petitioner, the respondent had neither considered the said representation nor returned the 1.2 Kg of gold to the petitioner.

Considering the submissions, the single bench of Justice Krishnan Ramasamy directed the first respondent to look into the matter seriously take appropriate action following the law and dispose of the petitioner's representation within stwo weeks.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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