Customs’ Detention of 198gm Gold Chains: Supreme Court directs to take Statutory Remedy within 30 days [Read Order]
The Delhi high court declined to set aside the order in original observing that the gold had been detained long before her marriage and that she appeared aware of her obligation to declare the ornaments.
The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s order concerning the detention of two gold chains weighing 198 grams seized from a Thai national at the IGI Airport, directing instead that the petitioner must pursue the statutory appellate remedy available under the Customs Act.
The petitioner, Chadchaporn Thiankrathok had challenged the confiscation order dated 24 November 2023 through a writ petition before the High Court, contending that she was unaware of the order and that no show cause notice had been issued to her.
The High Court, after verifying her identity and considering her explanation, noted that she had given a statement under Section 108 of the Customs Act stating that the gold did not belong to her and had been handed over by an unknown individual.
TheDelhi high court declined to set aside the order in original observing that the gold had been detained long before her marriage and that she appeared aware of her obligation to declare the ornaments.
Instead, the high court held that the appropriate course was for her to file an appeal, treating the order as served on the date of the High Court’s decision, and directed that the appeal be considered on merits without being rejected for delay if filed within the limitation period calculated from that day.
When the matter reached the Supreme Court, Justice Pankal Mithal and Justice Prasanna B. Varle found no justification to interfere with the High Court’s reasoning, noting that the petitioner’s rights had been sufficiently safeguarded.
The Court therefore dismissed the Special Leave Petition while granting liberty to the petitioner to avail the statutory appellate remedy within 30 days, with a direction that if such an appeal is filed within this period, it must be adjudicated on its merits.
Accordingly the matter was disposed of.
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