Parity with co-accused under Customs Act justified remand to the Commissioner and setting aside the High Court order.

Under the Customs Act, a party similarly placed to a co-accused was held entitled to equal treatment where the High Court had already remitted the co-accused's matter to the Commissioner without examining the merits. Applying that parity, the Supreme Court treated the appellant on the same footing as the co-accused and found no basis to deny the same relief. The High Court's order was set aside and the writ petition was disposed of by remanding the matter to the Commissioner.

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Issues: Whether the appellant, being similarly placed as the co-accused, was entitled to the same relief of having the matter remitted to the Commissioner.

Analysis: The appellant and the co-accused were proceeded against under the Customs Act. Since the High Court had already remitted the co-accused's matter to the Commissioner without entering into the merits, and the appellant stood in the same position, equal treatment was warranted.

Conclusion: The appellant was entitled to the same treatment as the co-accused, and the High Court's order was set aside with the writ petition disposed of in terms of remand to the Commissioner.

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