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Kochi, October 7 (IANS) Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed Duler Salman, son of Mammooti actor, to contact the Assistant Authority under Customs Act, 1962 for the provisional release of his Land Rover defender, which was seized by the Customs duty officials as part of the ‘Operation Numkor’.
Hearing a petition filed by the actor, a bench of Justice Ziyad Rahman AA, said that the investigation of alleged irregularities was still on the initial platform and the court would not intervene in the investigation at the point.
The court observed that the interim detention of the seized vehicle should be considered under Section 110A of the Customs Act, which allows the owner to seek provisional release subject to the security and conditions set by the competent authority.
“In such circumstances, it is ordered that, if the petitioner submission an application under Section 110A, will be assumed by the competent authority and the appropriate order will be passed within a week,” it said.
The bench said that the authority should provide an opportunity to listen to the petitioner or its representative and keep in mind that the vehicle was used and registered by various officers in the last two decades.
This further clarified that since provisional release is a statutory right in normal conditions, any rejection of the application should be made through a speech order, the reasons should be described and mentioned the documents and presentations produced.
In his petition, the actor said that he bought a vehicle from Aarpee Promoters Private five years ago. Ltd., payment through formal banking channels.
He claimed ownership in harmony, supported by customs withdrawal, invoices and distribution documents.
According to the entry and challan bill from Land Rover and Ford, the vehicle was originally imported by the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), New Delhi.
Section 110A has been introduced to protect the bole -faced owners, allows provisional release of the assets seized during an investigation, balances the government’s right to occupy with enforcement powers under the Customs Act.
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SG/VD