2010 (2) TMI 633 - HC - Customs

Right to information supply of sample - Central Information Commission directing the Commissioner of Customs to supply samples - samples considered as information within the meaning of the Right to Information Act, 2005 but held by the Customs authorities only in a fiduciary capacity by the customs authority objection of Revenue maintainability of claim before CIC not raised in earlier round of litigation court not inclined to entertain new ground in present petition - order of the CIC will not be treated as a precedent - samples in a fiduciary capacity is left open - application are accordingly dismissed

Summary

Issues: Challenge to CIC order directing supply of samples by Customs authorities.

In this judgment, the challenge was made to an order passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the Commissioner of Customs to supply samples to the Appellant. The petitioner argued that while samples could be considered as "information" under the Right to Information Act, the CIC failed to consider that the samples were held by Customs authorities in a fiduciary capacity. It was also highlighted that a previous order rejecting a request for examination of samples remnants was not taken into account by the CIC.

The court noted that this was the second round of litigation, with a previous writ petition remanded back to the CIC for fresh consideration. In the earlier round, it was observed that certain legal provisions were not considered, and the custody of the samples was in dispute between the Commissioner of Customs and the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs confirmed that the physical custody of the samples was with the Commissioner of Customs.

The court found that objections raised by the petitioner regarding the maintainability of the respondent's claim were not raised in the previous litigation and, therefore, declined to entertain them in the current petition. However, it was clarified that the CIC's order would not set a precedent. The issue of whether the Commissioner of Customs held the samples in a fiduciary capacity was left open for determination in a suitable case.

Ultimately, the petition and the application were dismissed by the court, concluding the legal proceedings related to the challenge against the CIC's order directing the supply of samples by the Customs authorities.