Provisional release of seized goods pending customs adjudication allowed on bank guarantee, with merits left open.

Pending adjudication of a customs show cause notice, the High Court directed provisional release of the goods on furnishing a bank guarantee from a nationalised bank, balancing the interests of the importer and the Revenue. The Court did not decide whether the case fell within the relevant circular clause, since that issue required factual adjudication and was to be examined in the show cause proceedings. All contentions were expressly left open, and the customs dispute was not decided on merits in the petition.

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Issues: Whether, pending adjudication of the show cause notice, the goods should be provisionally released on furnishing security, and whether the writ petition should be disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to respond to the notice.

Analysis: A show cause notice had already been issued under Section 124 of the Customs Act, 1962. The question whether the petitioner's case fell within the particular clause of the circular governing provisional release involved factual adjudication and was not decided in the petition. Balancing the interests of the petitioner and the Revenue, the Court directed provisional release of the goods on furnishing a bank guarantee of Rs. 50 lakhs from a nationalised bank and left all contentions open for consideration in the show cause proceedings.

Conclusion: The goods were directed to be provisionally released on furnishing the stipulated bank guarantee, and the petition was disposed of without adjudicating the merits of the customs dispute.

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