https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=205753 Passports seized during an ongoing investigation may be returned when there is no allegation of tampering or of any offence relating to the passports themselves, if suitable safeguards can protect the inquiry. The Madras HC treated continued custody as unnecessary where the seizure was only to prevent departure from the country without the investigating agency's knowledge. It accepted the prosecution's safeguard that the petitioners provide advance intimation of departure, destination and expected return date, and directed return of the passports subject to an undertaking by petitioners 1 to 5 to notify the investigating officer before leaving India. en-us Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:53:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=205753 Passports seized during an ongoing investigation may be returned when there is no allegation of tampering or of any offence relating to the passports themselves, if suitable safeguards can protect the inquiry. The Madras HC treated continued custody as unnecessary where the seizure was only to prevent departure from the country without the investigating agency's knowledge. It accepted the prosecution's safeguard that the petitioners provide advance intimation of departure, destination and expected return date, and directed return of the passports subject to an undertaking by petitioners 1 to 5 to notify the investigating officer before leaving India. Case-Laws Central Excise Thu, 28 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=205753