IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P.SAM KOSHY AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SUDDALA CHALAPATHI RAO Writ Petition No.1618 of 2026 Date of Order : 21.01.2026 BETWEEN :

Mohammed Mannan Shareef, S/o.Mohammed Dawood Shareef …Petitioner Vs.

The Union of India, rep. by its Secretary, Department of Finance, North Block, New Delhi and two others.

…Respondents ORDER : (per Hon’ble Sri Justice P.SAM KOSHY Heard Mr. Hassan Hussain Junaidi, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr.B.Mukherjee, learned counsel representing Mr.N.Bhujanga Rao, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India, for respondent No.1; and Mr. Dominic Fernandes, learned Senior Standing Counsel for Central Board of Indirect Taxes (C.B.I.C.) for respondent Nos.2 and 3.

2. The instant is a writ petition which has been filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying the Court for issuance of a Writ of Certiorari by calling for the records relating to the order passed by respondent No.2 in Appeal No.01/2026-Cus., dated 16.01.2026, whereby the petitioner’s statutory appeal was dismissed as time-barred and for non- compliance of pre-deposit, and to set aside the said order as being illegal, arbitrary and in violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India; and consequently, to direct respondent No.2 to entertain to entertain Appeal No.01/2026-Cus, admit, and decide the same on merits without rejecting it on the ground of limitation.

3. The brief facts of the case are that petitioner herein is a student pursuing higher education in United Arab Emirates. On 19.07.2023, when the petitioner was travelling from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad to Dubai by Flight No.FZ-436, he was intercepted by officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (C.I.S.F.) and handed over to officials of the Customs Air Intelligence Unit (A.I.U.) on the ground of suspicion of carrying foreign currency, amounting to 30,600/- (United Arab Emirates Dirham) (equivalent to INR Rs.7,08,390/-). Petitioner informed the officials that he was carrying the said amount towards payment of semester tuition fee to pursue his Master’s Degree in Information Technology at Canadian University of Dubai. Petitioner further informed the officials that he neither concealed the currency nor carried it for any commercial, unlawful, or smuggling purpose, and that non-declaration of the said amount was purely inadvertent and due to lack of awareness of procedural requirements.

4. Basing on the above set of facts, a show-cause notice was issued to the petitioner under Sections 113(d), 113(e) and 113(h) of the Customs Act, 1962 read with the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Currency) Regulations, 2015 whereby the officials proposed a penalty under Section 114 of the Customs Act and Section 13(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Basing on the said show-cause notice, the petitioner submitted his explanation vide letter dated 25.07.2023. Thereafter, a personal hearing was also conducted on 01.05.2024, wherein the petitioner reiterated the submissions made in his explanation vide letter dated 25.07.2023, and requested the authorities to take a lenient view in the matter.

5. However, the respondent No.3, i.e., the Office of the Deputy / Assistant Commissioner of Customs, R.G.I.A., basing on the facts of the case, passed orders vide Order-in-Original No.03/2024-25, dated 09.05.2024, holding that the petitioner had attempted to take out foreign currency (referred supra) without general or special permission from the Reserve Bank of India and also failed to produce any evidence of procurement of the detained foreign currency from authorized sources as envisaged under F.E.M.A. regulations and therefore, the respondent No.3 declined the option of redeeming the seized goods and ordered for absolute confiscation of the subject foreign currency equivalent to INR 7,08,390/- seized under Panchanama dated 19.07.2023