Delhi High Court Rules in Favor of NRI: Personal Gold Jewellery Exempt from Confiscation Under Baggage Rules

Delhi Court Rules in Favor of NRI: Personal Gold Jewellery Exempt from Confiscation Under Baggage Rules 2016

Baggage Rule and Personal Gold Jewellery

New Delhi, February 20, 2025: The Delhi High Court, in a significant ruling, has directed the release of gold jewellery detained by customs officials from a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) traveler at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). The Court reaffirmed that personal jewellery owned by a passenger cannot be arbitrarily confiscated and detained under the Baggage Rules.

Case Background

The petitioner, an NRI employed in Singapore, was intercepted upon arrival at IGI Airport on April 10, 2024. The customs authorities seized his gold chain, weighing approximately 99 grams, despite the petitioner possessing a valid work permit and an invoice for the jewellery purchased in Singapore. The petitioner approached the Court, contending that his personal jewellery was wrongfully detained without issuance of a show cause notice.

Court’s Observations and Ruling

The Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Dharmesh Sharma noted that there has been a disturbing trend of customs officials detaining personal jewellery of bona fide travelers, irrespective of their nationality. Citing several precedents, including Directorate of Revenue Intelligence v. Pushpa Lekhumal Tolani (2017) and Nathan Narayansamy v. Commissioner of Customs (2023), the Court held that such detentions were contrary to established legal principles.

The Court also took note of a standard undertaking signed by the petitioner, which stated that he waived his right to a written show cause notice and personal hearing. However, the Court found that such printed waivers were not in compliance with natural justice. It observed that for a waiver to be legally valid, it must be a conscious and informed decision rather than a mere formality forced upon the passenger.

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Violation of Natural Justice

The Court emphasized that the principles of natural justice must be adhered to in all such cases. It ruled that an oral show cause notice, as alleged by customs authorities, cannot substitute a proper legal process under Section 124 of the Customs Act. Referring to Amit Kumar v. The Commissioner of Customs (2024), the Court noted that printed waivers extracted from travelers in a routine manner fail to meet the required legal standards.

Final Verdict

In its final order, the Court held that:

• The detention of the petitioner’s jewellery was unlawful.
• The non-issuance of a show cause notice further invalidated the continued detention.
• The detained gold chain must be released to the petitioner within two weeks.
• The petitioner shall bear only 50% of the warehouse storage charges.

Implications of the Judgment

This ruling reaffirms the legal protection available to international travelers carrying personal jewellery and personal effects. It underscores the requirement for customs authorities to adhere to due process before confiscating such items. The judgment is expected to have a broader impact, deterring arbitrary detentions of travelers’ personal belongings at Indian airports.

The case serves as a reminder that fundamental legal rights cannot be overridden by administrative convenience. Travelers, particularly NRIs and foreign nationals, may now have stronger grounds to challenge such detentions and ensure compliance with established legal principles.

WP(C) 1809/2025

Advocates who appeared in this case:

For the Petitioner: Ashish Panday, Advocate