Special statute procedure overrides general CrPC safeguards; Section 160 proviso does not apply to Customs Act summons.

A special statute with its own scheme for enquiry and summons excludes automatic application of general Criminal Procedure safeguards unless the Act expressly incorporates them. The Telangana High Court held that Chapter XII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, including Section 160 and its proviso, is designed for police investigation and does not govern summons issued under Section 108 of the Customs Act. Customs officers are not treated as police officers for this purpose, and the attendance and truth-telling obligations under Section 108 operate independently. The challenge to the summons therefore succeeded only in part, with relief granted to two petitioners and the summons sustained against the remaining petitioners.

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Issues: (i) Whether the proviso to Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 applies to summons issued under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Analysis: The Customs Act is a special enactment containing its own scheme for enquiry, investigation, summons, arrest, search and seizure. The Code of Criminal Procedure applies to offences under other laws only subject to any special enactment regulating the manner of investigation or other procedure. The provisions of Chapter XII of the Code, including Sections 160 and 161, are designed for police investigation and are not automatically attracted to customs enquiries. The Act itself contains specific incorporations of the Code only where intended, such as in Section 104(3), while Section 108 separately requires attendance of a summoned person and obliges him to state the truth. On the authorities considered, customs officers are not treated as police officers for this purpose, and the safeguards in Section 160 of the Code cannot be imported into proceedings under Section 108 of the Customs Act.

Conclusion: The proviso to Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 does not apply to summons issued under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the summons succeeded only in part, with relief granted to two petitioners and the summons sustained against the remaining petitioners.

Ratio Decidendi: A special statute with its own investigative procedure excludes the application of general procedural safeguards from the Code of Criminal Procedure unless the statute expressly incorporates them.

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