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2016 (12) TMI 698 - HC - CustomsMaintainability of petition - mixed question of law and facts - import of goods on the basis of illegal amended Bill of Lading - Raw Cashews - Held that: - It cannot be forgotten that when a right or liability is created by a statute, that itself prescribes a remedy or procedure for enforcing the right or liability, resort must be had to that particular statutory remedy, as opined by this Court. Further, just because the statutory remedy is an onerous one, without exhausting the same, a litigant is not entitled to file a writ petition - In the upshot of qualitative and quantitative discussions and also this Court, keeping in mind of an essential fact that the Petitioner makes a claim for the cargo in question based on proforma Bill of Lading and when the claim of the Petitioner is very much disputed by the Respondent Nos.4 and 5, and further when the Sixth Respondent falls in line with that of the Petitioner to the effect that the writ Petitioner is only entitled to get the cargo and thereby its Firm is entitled to get delivery of the cargo, pursuant to High Sea Sale Agreement, dated 21.04.2016 and that apart, when the Fourth Respondent comes out with the plea that the IGM can be amended as per Section 30(3) r/w Levy of Fees (Customs Documents) Regulations, 1970, then, this Court is of the considered view that the disputes between the parties are only to be settled before the Adjudicating Authority/proper officer (Fact Finding Authority) under the Customs Act. In fact, the rival claims/disputes between the parties in the instant case, which centres around on mixed questions of Facts and Law, cannot be investigated/not to be gone into by a writ Court under summary proceedings. Viewed in that perspective, this Court holds that filing of writ petition by the Petitioner is per se not maintainable. Consequently, writ petition fails. Petition dismissed - Liberty granted to the respective parties to approach the Adjudicating Authority/proper officer under the Customs Act, 1962 or to seek appropriate remedies under the General Law, Civil Law or Criminal Law and to seek redressal of their grievances, if they so desire/advised.
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