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Delhi News: The Delhi High Court has taken a tough stand on the Customs Department in the case of confiscation of a woman's personal jewellery at Indira Gandhi International Airport and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000. The court termed this action as inappropriate, illegal and insensitive and strictly directed the Customs Department to return the jewellery within two working days without any storage charges.
The family was harassed as soon as they returned from the trip
Petitioner Pooja Seth had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court demanding the return of her personal jewellery. She said that she had gone to attend a wedding ceremony in Bangkok with her husband and children on January 16 and returned to India on January 20.
Meanwhile, at IGI Airport, Customs officials not only stopped them but also confiscated their gold jewellery, causing mental agony to their entire family. The jewellery confiscated included four stone studded gold bracelets (78 grams), a gold bracelet (45 grams), and a gold chain and pendant (67 grams).
Court reprimands customs department for its illegal activities
The bench of Justice Pratibha Singh and Justice Rajnish Kumar Gupta reprimanded the Customs Department in this case and said that the seizure of the petitioner's gold jewellery was completely illegal and improper. It was his personal property and there was no justification for seizing it.
The Delhi High Court accepted the evidence presented by the petitioner Pooja Seth and said that the seized jewellery was part of her family heritage, which she had received from her grandmother. She also presented old photographs and a copy of the will in the court to prove this. The court made it clear that this arbitrariness of the Customs Department is a blatant violation of the rights of common citizens and will not be tolerated.
Statement taken under forced pressure- Petitioner
The Delhi High Court raised serious questions on the behavior of the customs officials and said that they forcibly made the petitioner sign a statement in which she was asked to accept that she is ready to pay the fine and penalty and is giving up the right to show cause notice or personal hearing.
The court termed it serious and said that this statement clearly appears to have been made under pressure. Disciplinary action against the concerned customs officer is mandatory.
Permission granted to petitioner to file affidavit
The court said that if the petitioner wishes, she can file an affidavit regarding the mistreatment meted out to her and her family at the airport. The court indicated that if the arbitrariness of the custom officials is not curbed, then more stringent steps can be taken in the future. The next hearing of the case will be on April 15.
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