R K PARIYAR AND G L MADAN AND I RAI AND MANSAROBAR COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES Vs. INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) It is a batch of four writ petitions. The petitioners have prayed that the International Airport Authority of India, the first respondent, be directed to hand over their respective goods covered under their Airway Bills to the K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines, the third respondent, for transhipment to Nepal without charging any godown rent/demurrage charges. The second respondent is the Collector of Customs, New Delhi.

(2.) The petitioners who are residents of Nepal sent their goods from Singapore to Kathmandu (Nepal) which arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, by K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines for transhipment to Kathmandu. In the case of some other persons similarly placed as petitioners, the consignments arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airoort by Air India flight from Singapore for onward transhipment to Kathmandu. In fact. there were in all ten consignments-five coming by K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines and the five by Air India.

(3.) To understand the issues involved in the present writ petitions it will be appropriate to refer to facts only in one of the petitions (C.W. 1197189). The petitioner here booked 26 packages direct from Singapore to Kathmandu. There were no direct flight from Singapore to Kathmandu and the goods had to first land at Delhi from Singapore and then transhipped to Kathmandu. Petitioner has said that these packages contained his personal effects as unaccompanied baggage. This consignment arrived at New Delhi by K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines flight on 11 July, 1987. The customs authorities acting under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, effected seizure of the consignment on 14 July, 1987 and prepared a panchnama on a belief that importation was improper and goods liable to confiscation under section 117 of the Act, The goods were warehoused with the first respondent whose warehouse had been declared as customs warehouse. Adjudication proceedings then were initiated under the Customs Act. A show cause notice was issued on 7 December, 1987 alleging violation of the provisions of the Act. The petitioner took the defence that his case was not covered under that Act and that the same was covered by the Treaty of Transit 1978 entered into by His Majesty's Government of Nepal and the Government of India. He said the goods being his baggage were in transit and were never imported into India for the Customs Act to be appplicable, and, therefore, there could not be any breach of the provisions of that Act. By order dated 23 September, 1988 the Deputy Collector of Customs (Adjudication) dropped the proceedings and permitted transhipment of all the seized goods under proper customs escort. He observed as under :-