Customs safety conditions for hazardous cargo upheld where distance rules were found neither arbitrary nor ultra vires.

The Customs Act, 1962 and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009 empower the Commissioner of Customs to impose conditions needed for safe custody and handling of goods in customs areas. A minimum distance requirement between hazardous cargo and general cargo at Container Freight Stations and Inland Container Depots was introduced on safety and security grounds, in a context requiring technical and scientific assessment. The Court noted that regulations framed for the Jawaharlal Nehru Port did not automatically apply to CFSs and ICDs because their operational conditions differ, including longer storage periods. On judicial review under Article 226, the measure was entitled to deference absent arbitrariness, and the challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the prescription of a minimum distance between hazardous cargo and general cargo at Container Freight Stations and Inland Container Depots was arbitrary or ultra vires the governing customs regulations and constitutional guarantees.

Analysis: The Customs Act, 1962 and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009 empowered the Commissioner of Customs to prescribe and enforce conditions necessary for the custody and safe handling of imported and export goods in customs areas. The impugned distance requirement was introduced in the context of safety and security concerns, and the Court noted that such matters involved technical and scientific assessment. The regulations for the Jawaharlal Nehru Port were held not to apply ipso facto to CFSs and ICDs, which have different operational conditions and longer storage periods. In judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Court would defer to the competent authority unless the measure was shown to be arbitrary.

Conclusion: The distance prescription was not shown to be arbitrary or unlawful, and the challenge failed.

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