78 grams Silver-Coated Gold Coins Caught at IGI Airport: Delhi HC Flags Serious Concern, Denies Immediate Release [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court refused to allow the immediate release of gold items seized from a passenger at IGI Airport, raising serious concern over an alleged attempt to disguise gold coins as silver.

Mohammad Shahid, the petitioner, filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court seeking the release of two gold bangles weighing 38 grams and seven silver-coated gold coins weighing 78 grams. These items were seized by the Customs Department at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, on 22 June 2024, as recorded in the official detention receipt.

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The petitioner arrived in India from Saudi Arabia on 29 March 2022. He was intercepted by Customs officials at the airport, who detained the items in question. The petitioner’s counsel argued that no show cause notice had been issued by the department so far and that the seized items should be released without further delay.

The Customs Department’s counsel argued that the seized items did not qualify as personal effects under the Baggage Rules, 2016. They also argued that there appeared to be an attempt to conceal the true nature of the coins by coating the gold with silver, which showed an intention to mislead authorities and avoid customs duty.

The division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed that the seized items could not be treated as personal belongings under the baggage rules and that the attempt to conceal the goldcoins as silver raised a serious concern.

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The court directed the petitioner to appear before the Customs Department on 31 July 2025 for the appraisal process. It allowed the Customs Department to pass an order imposing applicable customs duties as per law. The court also directed the petitioner to pay warehousing charges from the date of detention of the goods.

The court declined to grant immediate release of the seized goods and disposed of the writ petition with these directions. Pending applications, if any, were also disposed of.

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