HC stays order on returning ‘thaali’ to Lankan woman

 HC stays order on returning ‘thaali’ to Lankan woman 

CUSTOMS SLEUTHS FILE APPEAL 

Sureshkumar.k@timesofindia.com 15.02.2025

Chennai : A newly wed Sri Lankan woman, whose ‘thaali’ was seized by Chennai Customs officials a t airport citing rules concerning personal gold j ewellery, will have to wait for the return of the mangalsutra for some more time, as adivision bench stayed a single judge order asking Customs to return it to her. In his order on Jan 31, a single judge ordered the return of 133 grams of gold jewellery, including the ‘thaali’, seized from Thanushika, a Sri Lankan, at the Chennai airport. On Friday, however, a division bench of Justice S S Sundar and Justice C Saravanan stayed the single judge order, on an appeal moved by the customs department. The single judge had justified the order by observing that, as per our customs, it is normal for a newly married person to wear jewellery in such quantity. 

He added that the officers, while conducting searches, must respect the customs of every religion in this country and that it was unfair on the part of the customs officials to remove the ‘thaali’ from the petitioner. In another order, the single judge ordered the return of 135 grams of bangles seized from one Sabeena Mohammed Moidenn on the ground that she wore the bangles on her hands without any secrecy or concealment. 

Aggrieved, the customs preferred an appeal against the orders. When both the appeals came up for hearing, the customs contended that, as per rules, articles valued over ₹50,000 carried through the airports are taxed. They added that an order exempting jewellery worn by persons from the purview of such tax would affect the economy of the country. Concurring with the submissions, the court granted an interim stay against the orders of the single judge