Rakesh Kumar Gupta Vs Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court addressed petitions filed by Rakesh Kumar Gupta and Vibhuti Bhushan Das, directors of M/s ECG Easy Connect Logistics Pvt. Ltd., seeking the release of their electronic devices seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The DRI had seized the devices during an investigation into alleged gold smuggling, where the petitioners’ company handled the freight forwarding. The petitioners argued that since the investigation concluded and show cause notices were issued, their devices should be returned. The DRI, however, retained the devices due to potential objections regarding the admissibility of cloned data during adjudication.
The court ruled that the DRI could clone the data from the seized devices and return them to the petitioners. The court emphasized the established legal procedures for proving electronic data, referencing relevant statutes and the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018. To ensure data integrity, the court directed the DRI to copy the data onto a CD/Pen Drive with a hash value. The petitioners were given the option to verify the copied data. Furthermore, the petitioners agreed not to object to the production of the original devices or the method of proving the electronic data, provided they could verify the copied data and receive copies of any documents downloaded from their devices and relied upon by the DRI. The court also suggested that the Commissioner of Customs implement this process across all Commissionerates to facilitate the return of seized devices after data cloning. The court ordered the registry to communicate the order to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) for the creation of a Standard Operating Procedure for electronic device data retrieval and preservation, aiming to avoid unnecessary device retention throughout legal proceedings.
