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Bombay High Court News: The Bombay High Court on Thursday reprimanded the authorities in the gold smuggling case involving a Chinese woman. The court ordered the authorities to issue an exit permit to the Chinese woman as she has been acquitted of the crime. The High Court remarked that the woman had come to India from China leaving behind her two children and it is not right to harass her unnecessarily. This can affect bilateral relations.
Justice Prithviraj Chauhan said in the judgment that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees life and personal liberty and this applies to foreign citizens as well. He also ordered the central government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the woman for the trouble she suffered.
what is the matter
In fact, Chinese citizen 38-year-old Kang Ling was arrested from Mumbai airport in 2019 for smuggling gold worth Rs 3 crore. She was acquitted by a court in 2023 and the Sessions Court also upheld the decision. The court also directed the Immigration Bureau to issue her an exit permit to leave the country. However, the woman was not issued an exit permit as the Customs Department said it was in the process of filing an appeal against her acquittal. After this the woman approached the High Court.
Unnecessary harassment is not right, this is a gross misuse of powers
In its judgment, the High Court said that the Customs Department should have shown “humanistic approach and sensitivity as every foreign citizen has the fundamental right to freedom under Article 21.” The judge said, “The conduct of the Customs Department was not only wrong and vindictive but also grossly abused its powers by preventing the petitioner from going to his country without any justification.”
The High Court said that Kang had come to India leaving behind two children and she should not have been “harassed and harassed by the Customs Department”. The court said, “The way a foreign national is being treated by respondent number-2 (Customs Department) will have an impact on the bilateral relations of the two countries. This is nothing but harassing the petitioner without any reason.”
what did the court say
The High Court said that Article 21 is so wide that it covers not only citizens of this country but also foreigners visiting India and “it is the duty of the government to protect the liberty of such foreigners… and ensure that no one deprives them of their liberty.” According to Kang’s petition, she came to India in December 2019. Her flight was scheduled to land at Delhi airport but the destination was changed to Mumbai due to bad weather.
Kang then decided to take a domestic flight to Delhi after completing the Mumbai immigration formalities but during the immigration, 10 gold bars weighing one kilogram each and worth Rs 3,38,83,200 were allegedly found in his luggage.
