Chaman Lal Bhambri Man Bhavan Arts v. Principal Commissioner of Customs Import and Anr.
Case brief
What is this about?
This judgment addresses multiple writ petitions challenging Show Cause Notices and delayed adjudication under the Customs and GST Acts. The court held that the 'call book' practice often violates natural justice due to lack of proper intimation and justification, rendering indefinite delays unsustainable. Furthermore, the court clarified that Section 28(11) retrospectively validates proceedings by DRI officers and upholds Section 97 of the Finance Act, 2022. Despite legislative amendments, the court ruled that statutory authorities must act with expedition, and mere delays of decades without insurmountable constrains justify quashing the impugned notices and orders.
What did the court decide?
The present writ petitions are allowed. The Show Cause Notices (SCNs) and any final orders that may have come to be passed and which stand impugned in this batch of writ petitions are quashed.