Magistrate's power to remand under the Customs Act is available through the Criminal Procedure Code when the special law is silent.

A person arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act must be produced before a Magistrate without unnecessary delay, and that production is not a mere formality. Read with Section 4(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code applies where the Customs Act is silent, so the Magistrate may exercise powers under Sections 437 and 167(2) and (3) of the Code. The absence of an express remand provision in the Customs Act does not create a gap in custody control; the Magistrate may therefore remand the arrested person to judicial custody in customs cases.

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Issues: Whether a Magistrate has power to remand a person arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act when produced before him.

Analysis: Section 104 of the Customs Act requires the arrested person to be taken to a Magistrate without unnecessary delay and empowers the customs officer to release him on bail or otherwise. Reading this provision with Section 4(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code applies to matters not specifically covered by the Customs Act. The production of the arrested person before the Magistrate is therefore not an empty formality. Since the Magistrate may refuse bail under Section 437 of the Code, the corresponding power to remand to judicial custody under Section 167(2) and (3) of the Code is available in customs cases as well. The absence of an express remand clause in the Customs Act does not create a vacuum, because the Code fills the field where the special Act is silent.

Conclusion: The Magistrate does have power to remand a person produced under Section 104 of the Customs Act under Sections 167(2) and (3) and Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

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