Indian Kanoon - Search engine for Indian Law

Supreme Court - Daily Orders

The Senior Intelligence Officer vs Sanjay Agarwal on 4 July, 2023

     ITEM NO.35                            IN COURT NO.4                SECTION II

                                  S U P R E M E C O U R T O F     I N D I A
                                          RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

     Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.)                 No(s).    4821/2023

     (Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 29-07-2022
     in CRLP No. 5863/2022 passed by the High Court for the State of
     Telangana at Hyderabad)

     THE SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICER                                   Petitioner(s)
                                                    VERSUS
     SANJAY AGARWAL                                                    Respondent(s)

     (IA No. 65651/2023 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED
     JUDGMENT)

     Date : 04-07-2023 This matter was called on for hearing today.

     CORAM :
                             HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.B. PARDIWALA
                             HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ MISRA

     For Petitioner(s)                Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR
                                      Ms. Shradha Deshmukh, Adv.
                                      Mr. V.C. Bharathi, Adv.
                                      Mr. Anirudh Bhat, Adv.
                                      Mr. Annirudh Sharma II, Adv.
                                      Mr. Akshit Pradhan, Adv.
     For Respondent(s)

                              UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
                                                 O R D E R

1. The respondent, although served with the notice issued by this Court, yet has chosen not to remain present before this Court either in person or through an advocate.

2. We are informed that Mr. N. Venkataraman, learned Additional Solicitor General of India, was to argue this matter, however, he has been held up in some other Court.

3. Having gone through the impugned order passed by the High Court and also the materials on record, the following questions of law fall for the consideration of this Court:

Reason: i. Whether a DRI Officer is a “proper officer” for the purposes of Section 28 of the Customs Act, 1962?

 ii. Whether the summons issued by the DRI Officer to the respondent under Section 108 of the Customs Act, 1962 could be said to be without jurisdiction?

iii. Whether the Customs/DRI Officers are police officers and, therefore, are required to register FIR in respect of an offence under Sections 133 to 135 respectively of the Customs Act, 1962?

iv. Whether the provisions of Sections 154 to 157 respectively and 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 would apply in respect of the proceedings under the Customs Act, 1962, in view of Section 4(2) of the Code and whether in respect of the offences under Section 133 to 135 respectively of the Customs Act, 1962, the registration of the FIR is mandatory before the person concerned is arrested and produced before the Magistrate?

4. Let the matter come up for final disposal on 19.07.2023.

  (NARENDRA PRASAD)                                            (ANJU KAPOOR)
ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS                                       COURT MASTER (NSH)




                                         2