The Delhi High Court has expressed serious concern over delays by Customs authorities in adjudicating cases involving detained goods, observing that passengers cannot be effectively punished merely because their cases remain pending while demurrage charges continue to accumulate, ANI reported. A Division Bench of Justice Avneesh Jhingan and Justice Shail Jain said it was not an isolated instance where goods detained by Customs remained in warehouses for months or even years without adjudication.

Source: ANI via DevDiscourse

"The delay in adjudication cannot be made a mode of punishment for the passengers whose goods have been detained," the court observed, adding that the hardship was compounded as demurrage charges continued to accrue not only until the passing of the order-in-original but potentially until the revisional stage if the Department pursued the matter further, Live Law reported.

Source: Live Law

The court was hearing a petition filed by Niyamat Khan against the Commissioner of Customs, IGI Airport, and another respondent. The Customs Department submitted that the goods in question had been detained in January 2025. Although a notice affording an opportunity of personal hearing was issued in August 2025, the matter remained unadjudicated as of November 3, 2026, the bench noted.

The Department submitted that the petitioner had not appeared for the personal hearing and that the matter could therefore not proceed further, Live Law reported. The court, however, noted that the writ petition had been drafted in November 2025 and notice had been issued in the matter on February 18, 2026, meaning the Department had been aware of the pendency of the proceedings.

The bench said there appeared to be a lack of urgency on the part of the Department in adjudicating such matters, irrespective of the fact that some of the passengers may not be permanent residents of India — a point of direct concern to NRIs and other travellers whose belongings are held at Indian airports.

The court requested the Customs Department's panel counsel to assist in the matter and permitted the Department to file a detailed affidavit within three weeks. It also said the Chief Commissioner of Customs may collect data from airports and the Central Warehousing Corporation on detained goods and pending cases. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 27, 2026.