Dhruv Mittal Vs Commissioner of Customs (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court addressed an application seeking execution of its order dated 22nd August, 2025, which directed the Customs Department to release detained goods belonging to the petitioner, Dhruv Mittal. The goods in question included a gold chain weighing approximately 45 grams and an iPhone 15 Pro (128GB variant). The Court had ordered the gold chain to be released without any customs duty, and the iPhone to be released subject to payment of applicable customs duty. It also clarified that no warehousing charges would be levied.
Despite this clear directive, the petitioner reported repeated visits to the Customs Department office at IGI Airport on 27th August and 17th September 2025, only to be informed that the matter was pending review by the department’s legal team. This inaction constituted clear disobedience of the Court’s order. On the prior hearing dated 24th September 2025, the Standing Senior Counsel (SSC) for Customs indicated that the department might challenge the Court’s order before the Supreme Court. However, no appeal or Special Leave Petition (SLP) was filed, and the statutory period for such filing has since expired.
The Court noted that the Customs Department has frequently delayed compliance with orders for releasing detained goods on the pretext of considering legal remedies, even when no allegations of fraud or smuggling exist. Such delays cause unnecessary hardship to the affected passengers. The Court emphasized that the statutory limitations under relevant Acts bind both the passengers and the Customs Department. The department cannot prolong a passenger’s hardship by failing to implement Court orders in a timely manner.
