Court denies mandamus for seized gold bars, directs Customs to consider security in lieu, sets 2-week timeline for decision.

The court declined to issue a mandamus to implement a Customs Appeal order for the release of seized gold bars due to pending proceedings. Instead, the Principal Commissioner of Customs was directed to consider the petitioner's representation for providing security in place of the gold bars. The petitioner was instructed to appear before the respondent with necessary documents, and the respondent was mandated to dispose of the representation within two weeks. The Writ Petition was disposed of with this direction, and no costs were awarded.

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Issues involved: Mandamus to implement Customs Appeal order, release of seized gold bars, consideration of representation for security in lieu of gold bars.

The petitioner sought a mandamus to direct the Respondent to implement the Order of Commissioner of Customs (Appeal) and release the two crude gold bars seized from the petitioner. The petitioner had previously faced an order-in-original confirming the proposals for confiscation of foreign origin gold bars under Section 111(a), 111(d), and 111(i) of the Customs Act, 1962, along with a penalty. This order was successfully challenged before the first and second appellate authorities.

The Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal issued an order dated 20.04.2023, and considering the timeline for filing a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal, the petitioner would have to wait until November 2023 to determine the finality of the order. Therefore, at this stage, no mandamus can be issued to implement the order dated 14.11.2019. Instead, the Court directed the Principal Commissioner of Customs to consider the petitioner's representation dated 30.04.2023, which sought furnishing of security in place of the gold bars.

It was acknowledged that the said representation had been received by the respondent and was pending. To facilitate the resolution, the petitioner was instructed to appear before the respondent on 19.06.2023 at 10.30 a.m. with all supporting materials, without further notice. Following the hearing, the respondent was mandated to dispose of the representation within two weeks, in accordance with the law.

Consequently, the Writ Petition was disposed of with the direction for the respondent to consider the petitioner's representation for security in lieu of the gold bars within the specified timeline. No costs were awarded, and the connected Miscellaneous Petition was closed.

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