Rikhab Chand Jain Vs Union of India & Ors. (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court of India examined a civil appeal arising from a 29-year-old customs matter involving the seizure of 252.177 kilograms of alleged smuggled silver. The original confiscation order was passed on 7th May 1996 by the Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, imposing a penalty of Rs. 50,000 on the appellant. The appellant subsequently challenged the penalty before the Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal (CEGAT) under Section 129A(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. CEGAT dismissed the appeal on 23rd June 2000, confirming the confiscation but reducing the penalty to Rs. 30,000. Although the Customs Act provided a statutory right to appeal to the High Court under Section 130, the appellant did not pursue this remedy within the prescribed 180-day limitation. Instead, the appellant filed a writ petition in the Rajasthan High Court on 18th March 2003, seeking to challenge both the confiscation order and the CEGAT’s order.
The High Court dismissed the writ petition on two grounds. First, it noted that the appellant had failed to exhaust the statutory appeal remedy available under Section 130 of the Customs Act, and second, on the merits, it held that the appellant could not challenge the confiscation since it had not been properly contested before CEGAT. Additionally, the High Court observed that the order of the criminal revisional court, which set aside the Special Magistrate’s direction to return the seized silver, was never challenged by the appellant. Consequently, the Court found no basis for relief under writ jurisdiction.
