Legal principle

Section 103 of the Customs Act is an independent power to detect goods hidden inside a person's body; recovery made under it after a Magistrate's order, or on voluntary submission under Section 103(8), can stand even if the NDPS Section 50 notice was defective.

Court decision

Bail Applications 3390 of 2025 and 436 of 2025 were rejected. Bail Applications 1832 of 2025, 4341 of 2025, 5169 of 2024 and 1221 of 2025 were allowed because those applicants had been in jail for over four years, on a personal bond of Rs.2,50,000 each with sureties, reporting to DRI on the 1st and 16th of each month, and surrender of passports. The court asked the Chief Commissioner of Customs and DRI to note the procedural lapses.

Facts

Six foreign nationals arriving at CSMI Airport, Mumbai between 2022 and 2024 were intercepted by Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) or DRI officers on suspicion of carrying drugs inside their bodies. Personal searches found nothing, so each was taken before a Magistrate under Section 103 of the Customs Act, 1962 for X-ray and medical detention, or taken straight to J.J. Hospital in an emergency. In hospital they passed capsules containing heroin (for example 95 capsules, 1235 grams, in one case). They were prosecuted under the NDPS Act. The Special Judge refused bail, and the Bombay High Court heard all six bail applications together in one common judgment dated 21.09.2026.

Key provisions

• Section 103(8), Customs Act, 1962 — Power to screen or X-ray bodies of suspected persons for detecting secreted goods
• Section 50, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 — Conditions under which search of persons shall be conducted.