The Delhi High Court has directed the release of jewellery detained by the Customs Department at IGI Airport, ruling that the items fall within the ambit of “personal effects” under the Baggage Rules.
The Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Rajneesh Kumar Gupta has observed that personal-use jewellery qualifies as “personal effects” and is exempt from detention. It also held that the alleged waiver of SCN, obtained through a pre-filled form, could not be used to justify procedural lapses.
The petitioner, Laxmi Chauhan, was intercepted by Customs officials on May 2, 2023, while travelling from Dubai to India. She was wearing one gold chain and two gold bangles weighing 200 grams, which were seized by authorities. An Order-in-Original passed on September 25, 2023, ordered absolute confiscation of the jewellery valued at ₹11.42 lakh and imposed a penalty of ₹1.15 lakh. Chauhan’s appeal was later allowed by the Commissioner (Appeals) on January 16, 2024, permitting the re-export of the jewellery upon payment of redemption fine and penalty of ₹1.15 lakh each.
However, when the petitioner approached Customs on June 26, 2024, to pay the fine, the jewellery was not released due to a pending revision application filed by the Department of Revenue. The High Court noted that no Show Cause Notice (SCN) had been issued and no personal hearing was granted before the confiscation order, as required under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962.
Directing Customs to give effect to the Order-in-Appeal, the Court instructed Chauhan to appear before the department on August 11, 2025, at 11:30 AM to pay the redemption fine and penalty. The jewellery will then be released for re-export either to Chauhan or her authorised representative. Significantly, the Court waived all warehousing charges in view of the circumstances.
The petition was disposed of with these directions, providing relief to the petitioner after more than two years of litigation.
Case Details
Case Title: Laxmi Chauhan Versus Commissioner Of Customs Airport And General & Anr.
Case No.: W.P.(C) 8244/2025
Date: 23rd July, 2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Anmol Agarwal & Mr. Puru
Counsel For Respondent: Akash Verma, Sr. Standing Counsel
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