DRI has no locus standi to file writ petition under Article(s) 226/227 of Constitution of India

By TG Team Income Tax Judiciary May 23, 2017

TaxGuru Citation: 2017 taxguru.in 590
Case Name: Union of India Vs M/s. Padmini Polymers Ltd & ANR (Delhi High Court)
Appeal Number: Only available for paid members
Date of Judgement/Order: Only available for paid members
Courts: All High Courts, Delhi High Court

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The counsel for Padmini also argued that the petitioner – Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has no locus standi to file the writ petition under Article(s) 226/227 of the Constitution of India. If the Custom department was at all aggrieved by the impugned order, then the appropriate authority could have filed the writ petition. The petitioner being merely an investigating authority cannot contest the adjudication by the Settlement Commission. It was argued that only the officer of Customs who had been assigned to function either by the Central Board of Excise and Customs or by the jurisdictional Commissioner of Customs would be the “proper officer” for the purposes of assessment or re- In the present case, Additional Director General (DRI) had not been appointed as proper officer under Section 2(34) of the Act for the purposes of assessment or re-assessment.

The issue of issuance of Show Cause notices by the DRI for collection of duty was adjudicated by this Court in Mangali Impex Ltd. Union of India & Ors. 2016(335)ELT605(Del.). It held that re-casting of Section 28 of the Act with the introduction of sub-section 11 thereto did not meet the objective it had sought to achieve.

During the proceedings when the locus standi of the petitioner was questioned, they impleaded the Commissioner of Customs, ICD Tuglaqabad, which was allowed on 12.11.2013, about 7 years after the writ petition was filed. However, the same would not validate the filing of the petition when such powers were not specifically conferred upon the DRI. Therefore, in the absence of a specific jurisdiction of the petitioner to have preferred this writ petition against the order of the Settlement Commission, the writ petition would not be maintainable.