Court dismisses Writ Petition challenging Customs Act order, emphasizes statutory remedies.

The MADRAS HIGH COURT dismissed the Writ Petition challenging the confiscation order under the Customs Act, 1962, as the Petitioner failed to utilize the statutory appeal remedy before CESTAT. Emphasizing that Article 226 should not bypass statutory procedures, the Court highlighted the need to exhaust available remedies, particularly in revenue matters. It criticized the misuse of Article 226 for interim relief and prolonged litigation. Consequently, the Court declined to entertain the Writ Petition, refraining from assessing the dispute's merits and closing the related miscellaneous petition without costs.

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Issues: Failure to prefer appeal before Appellate Authority under Customs Act, 1962; Petitioner filing Writ Petition challenging order passed by Respondent.

The judgment delivered by Mr. Justice P.D. Audikesavalu of the MADRAS HIGH COURT pertains to a case where the Respondent had passed an order for confiscating goods under the Customs Act, 1962. The order allowed the Petitioner to appeal against it under Section 129-A of the Act before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) within three months. However, the Petitioner chose not to pursue this statutory remedy and instead filed a Writ Petition challenging the Respondent's order. The Court noted the absence of any acceptable explanation from the Petitioner for bypassing the alternative remedy provided under the statute. Citing the legal position outlined by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in a previous case, the Court emphasized that Article 226 of the Constitution is not meant to short-circuit or circumvent statutory procedures. It stated that statutory remedies should be exhausted unless they are entirely unsuitable for extraordinary situations. The Court highlighted that matters involving revenue with available statutory remedies do not warrant bypassing such remedies. It also noted the prevalent practice of filing petitions under Article 226 solely for obtaining interim orders and prolonging proceedings, which it deemed necessary to discourage. Consequently, the Court refrained from expressing any view on the merits of the controversy and dismissed the Writ Petition as it could not be entertained. The connected miscellaneous petition was closed without any costs incurred.

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