Gujarat HC Rules CrPC not Applicable on DRI/Customs, No FIR under Sec 133 to 135 of CA, 1962 for Arrest Required

· Sec 108 does not Require Magistrate – Arrest does not make Person Accused

AHMEDABAD: In an important order interpreting customs law, the Gujarat high court has ruled that an officer of customs or the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) can arrest anybody on suspicion of smuggling and the court cannot interfere with the arrest.

In an order on 16^th September, the HC also clarified that as the customs officer is not a police officer, he is not required to follow certain norms of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for arresting a person. He is not obliged in law to register an FIR against the person arrested for smuggling under Section 133 to 135 of the Customs Act.

The bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J B Pardiwala ruled while deciding a petition filed by a businessman, Sundeep Sanghavi, who was repeatedly summoned by a Vapi-based DRI official in connection with an inquiry of duty evasion. Sanghavi’s company is a high-sea seller to a partnership firm, which is under DRI scanner.

As he was repeatedly summoned for the last two years, he approached the HC and sought protection on apprehension of arrest and raised legal issues relating to powers vested in a DRI official, including issue of whether he is a competent officer to act under Customs Act or not. In response, the HC said the Centre has delegated powers of a customs officer to a DRI officer. During making an arrest, he is not obliged to follow the procedure that a police officer has to follow as part of an investigation.

DRI officer has to only inform about grounds of arrest

The Gujarat high court further said that after making an arrest for smuggling, the Customs or DRI officer has to only inform the person the grounds of his arrest and take him to a magistrate without unnecessary delay. “The power of a Customs officer to arrest a person is statutory in character and should not be interfered with. Section 108 of the Act does not contemplate any magisterial intervention,” the HC clarified and added that since he is not a police officer, a statement made before a Customs officer is admissible.

However, the HC has removed stigma to those facing inquiry to an extent. It said that even after arrest or detention for the purpose of investigation or when a person is summoned for interrogation or to furnish documents, he does not become an accused of smuggling or any offence under the Customs Act within the meaning of Article 20(3) of the Constitution. The person becomes an accused only after the officer files a complaint before the magistrate. The high court also said, “The arrest and detention are only for the purpose of holding effective inquiry under Sections 107 and 108 of the Customs Act with a view to adjudging confiscation of dutiable or prohibited goods and imposing penalty.”