Mohammad Junaid Vs Commissioner of Customs (Delhi High Court)
Summary: The Delhi High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Mohammad Junaid challenging the Order-in-Appeal dated 21.01.2026 passed by the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), which had set aside the adjudicating authority’s order permitting re-export of a 117-gram gold bar on payment of applicable customs duty, redemption fine and penalty and had instead ordered absolute confiscation. The Court held that the petitioner had an efficacious statutory remedy by way of revision before the Central Government under Section 129DD of the Customs Act, 1962, and found no circumstances warranting exercise of writ jurisdiction under Article 226.
The petitioner, an Indian national, arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, from Doha, Qatar on 01.07.2024 by Flight No. AI-972. After crossing the Green Channel, he was intercepted by Customs authorities and a gold bar weighing 117 grams was recovered. The Detention Receipt described the bar as bearing marking “TT044200”, having purity of 998 and weighing 117 grams. In his statement recorded on 01.07.2024 under Section 108 of the Customs Act, the petitioner stated that the gold belonged to him, that he had not declared it, that he knew customs duty was leviable and that he was willing to pay the applicable duty, fine and penalty. The statement also recorded: “I also do not need any Show Cause Notice or personal hearing in the matter.”
