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2019 (1) TMI 12 - HC - CustomsMaintainability of petition - suspension of Company’s operations-at the special warehouse - it was alleged that the Company has violated the Special Warehousing License conditions and it has suppressed or manipulated the sales data - Should the warehouse and the duty-free shops in the International Airport remain closed until the departmental investigation or inquiry concludes? - Held that:- Indeed, investigation is a matter of integrity and it must inspire confidence even in the one subjected to that investigation. Here that is lacking. I entirely leave aside the Company’s version. Even going by the Airport Authority’s version, the allegations of bias, predetermination, and prejudice are writ large. When a person alleges bad faith he must implead the persons facing that allegation as a party to the proceedings. It is to enable him to answer the charge. Courts have to be slow in drawing conclusions for upholding the allegations of bad faith. Only where the facts lead to inevitable inferences supporting the charge of bad faith should the courts record a finding on that count. But before that, it must also hear the affected person. The investigation that has so far taken place need not be scuttled. But from now on wards, until the inquiry or investigation concludes, the Chief Commissioner of Customs will entrust the matter to some other official than Mr. Sumit Kumar, the Commissioner of Customs. The Customs Department is directed to allow forthwith the Company to carry on its business operations, of course under the strict supervision of the departmental officials, as the Chief Commissioner of Customs deems proper - Then, in the interest of investigative fairness, the Chief Commissioner of Customs will entrust to some other officer than the 10th respondent the task of completing the investigation and taking all other consequential measures, but by using the same material so far the Department has gathered. Petition disposed off.
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