https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=409755 Interim bail under the COVID-19 decongestion criteria was refused where the petitioners faced allegations of foreign-origin gold smuggling and an ongoing Customs Act investigation. The Court treated the matter as a serious economic offence, noted prima facie involvement and earlier customs proceedings suggesting habitual conduct, and accepted that custodial remand was necessary for effective investigation. It also relied on the risk of absconding and possible influence on witnesses. On that basis, the petitioners were held not entitled to interim bail under the High Powered Committee guidelines, and interference with the Magistrate's refusal was declined. en-us Wed, 07 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 25 Oct 2021 11:06:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=409755 Interim bail under the COVID-19 decongestion criteria was refused where the petitioners faced allegations of foreign-origin gold smuggling and an ongoing Customs Act investigation. The Court treated the matter as a serious economic offence, noted prima facie involvement and earlier customs proceedings suggesting habitual conduct, and accepted that custodial remand was necessary for effective investigation. It also relied on the risk of absconding and possible influence on witnesses. On that basis, the petitioners were held not entitled to interim bail under the High Powered Committee guidelines, and interference with the Magistrate's refusal was declined. Case-Laws Customs Wed, 07 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=409755