Absence of SCN and Personal Hearing: Delhi HC Sets Aside Customs Detention of Passenger’s Gold [Read Order]

The Delhi High Court has set aside the detention of a passenger’s gold jewellery by the Customs Department at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, and ordered the release of the seized goods. The Court held that in the absence of a Show Cause Notice (SCN) and a personal hearing, the continued detention of the goods was contrary to law and violative of the principles of natural justice.

The petitioner, Nitish Kharbanda, arrived at IGI Airport on 19th March 2024, when Customs officials intercepted him and seized his personal belongings containing a gold kada weighing 100 grams and a gold chain weighing 75 grams.

A detention receipt was issued on the same date, followed by a new detention receipt dated 8th August 2024. The petitioner approached the Court under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking release of the detained goods.

The department contended that a personal hearing notice had been issued to the petitioner in line with the decision in Qamar Jahan v. Union of India & Ors. (2025), where the Court had directed that even if an SCN is waived, passengers must be informed of a personal hearing notice through electronic means such as WhatsApp or email.

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The Bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta relied upon its earlier judgment in Amit Kumar v. Commissioner of Customs (2025), which had held that waivers of SCN and personal hearing obtained on printed or standard proformas are contrary to Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962.

The Court reiterated that natural justice is not merely lip-service. It has to be given effect and complied with in letter and spirit, and that every person affected by a confiscation proceeding must be afforded a conscious opportunity to be heard.

The Court observed that since no SCN had been issued, no personal hearing granted, and no Order-in-Original passed, the detention was unsustainable. It also noted that the personal hearing notice was issued more than a year after the seizure, rendering the entire process void.

Accordingly, the Delhi High Court set aside the detention order and directed the Customs Department to release the petitioner’s gold kada and chain within four weeks, subject to payment of applicable warehousing charges as on the date of detention.

The assessee was represented by Richa Kumari, while Aditya Singla, along with Arya Suresh Nair, Ritwik Saha, Raghav Bakshi, Sahil Parashar, Shreya Lamba and Akhil Sharma appeared for the department.

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