Malayalam cinema star Dulquer Salmaan approached the Kerala Excessive Court docket on 26 September after the seizure of his luxurious automobile by customs officers. He sought reduction after his automotive was taken throughout a raid earlier this week.
The event comes within the wake of Operation Numkhor, a large-scale investigation launched by the Customs Preventive wing. The operation, whose title is derived from the Bhutanese phrase Numkhor, which means automobile, focused round 30 areas throughout the state, together with residences of well-known actors reminiscent of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Dulquer Salmaan, and Amit Chakkalackal. Throughout the raids, officers reportedly seized 38 high-end luxurious automobiles suspected to have been smuggled into India from Bhutan utilizing solid papers.
Dulquer Salmaan’s plea
At Dulquer’s residence, officers seized a 2004 mannequin Land Rover Defender, which the actor is alleged to have bought final 12 months. In his petition, nonetheless, Dulquer challenged the legality of the seizure, asserting that the automobile was puchased from the Indian Pink Cross. The actor maintained that the automobile had legitimate possession and was registered appropriately. There was no motive for him to suspect that the import or sale was unlawful, the plea acknowledged.
He additional maintained that the automotive had been registered correctly and accompanied by the required documentation. “Although the out there paperwork had been handed over to the officers, there was whole refusal to look into the identical whereas finishing up the seizure in a hasty and arbitrary style,” the petition additional acknowledged.
The actor additionally submitted that he had made a illustration to the Customs division on 25 September, explaining his possession of the automotive and sharing all related paperwork. Nonetheless, their refusal to launch the automobile pressured him to maneuver the Excessive Court docket. Dulquer argued that if the automotive stays unused and uncovered to the weather for an prolonged interval, it might maintain injury past restore. He subsequently sought instructions from the court docket for its launch.
Authorized proceedings
The petition was heard by Justice Ziyad Rahman of the Kerala Excessive Court docket. Dulquer was represented by a authorized workforce comprising Advocates G Mini, P Fazil, Saju Thaliath, VV Jayasree, Jithin Paul Varghese, C Prathibha, Fadil Fazil, Aswathy Jayachandran, and Akshaya Thomas. The court docket has now granted the customs authorities extra time to file their response and furnish directions. The matter has been posted for additional listening to on 30 September.