Abdu Raheem vs. The Deputy Commissioner Of Customs (Prev.)
Held
The Court held that petitioners cannot evade summons under Section 108 of the Customs Act. However, it allowed the 1st petitioner to appear with an Advocate, who would be present within visible but beyond hearing range, citing Supreme Court precedents. The 2nd petitioner's presence was not required for the time being.
Facts
Petitioners challenged summons issued under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1967, seeking to quash them or, alternatively, permission for an Advocate to be present during statement recording. They had previously sought exemptions and time extensions for appearance after Customs searches at their residence and business premises related to alleged illegal cigarette trading.
Key Issues
The key legal issues were whether a summons issued under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1967, could be challenged and whether a person summoned under this section has the right to have an Advocate present during the recording of their statement.
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2025:KER:30493 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS TUESDAY, THE 8TH DAY OF APRIL 2025 / 18TH CHAITHRA, 1947 WP(C) NO. 9402 OF 2025 PETITIONERS: 1 ABDU RAHEEM AGED 49 YEARS S/O. ALI BAPPU, RESIDING AT PALLITHODUVIL HOUSE, MARKET ROAD, THALAKKADATHUR P.O. TIRUR, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 676103 2 NASEEHATH V.P AGED 36 YEARS W/O. ABDUL RAHEEM, RESIDING AT PALLITHODUVIL HOUSE, MARKET ROAD, THALAKKADATHUR P.O. TIRUR, MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 676103 BY ADVS. M.AJAY V.P.PRASAD RESPONDENTS: 1 THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (PREV.) FIRST FLOOR, OLD CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, GST BHAVAN, MANANCHIRA, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673001 2 THE SUPERINTENDENT OF CUSTOMS (PREVENTIVE) OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS (PREVENTIVE), FIRST FLOOR, OLD CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, GST BHAVAN, MANANCHIRA, KOZHIKODE, PIN - 673001 BY ADVS. GIRISH KUMAR V R.HARISHANKAR THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 08.04.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
2025:KER:30493 W.P.(C). No.9402 of 2025 BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J. --------------------------------------- W.P.(C). No.9402 of
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
Reproduced from the public record of the Kerala High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.