Akash Malik v. Commissioner of Customs New Delhi
Case brief
What is this about?
Delhi High Court (W.P.(C) 3024/2025, decided 10.03.2025, Prathiba M. Singh & Rajneesh Kumar Gupta, JJ.) – Akash Malik v. Commissioner of Customs New Delhi – customs seizure of 5 iPhone 13 Pro 128 GB phones (without battery) at IGI Airport Terminal 3 on 22.07.2024 on arrival from Hong Kong (petitioner resident of Rohtak, Haryana) – timeliness of show cause notice dated 17.01.2025 under Section 110 Customs Act 1962; six-month limitation; despatch 28.01.2025 and receipt 30.01.2025; Section 110(5) further six-month extension; service-timing held a question of fact; directions for reply, personal hearing, provisional release of possibly-outdating phones, and adjudication within three months; Article 226; CM APPL. 14309/2025 (exemption) allowed; petition disposed, not decided on merits; no precedents cited.
What did the court decide?
No final relief on merits. Petition disposed of with directions: petitioner may file a reply to the show cause notice and shall receive a personal hearing if sought; liberty to approach the Adjudicating Authority for provisional release of the seized iPhones; adjudication to be completed within three months as far as possible. CM APPL. 14309/2025 (for exemption) allowed subject to all just exceptions; pending application(s) disposed of.