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2020 ] COURT-ROOM HIGHLIGHTS A103

Investigation abroad for offences under Customs Act, 1962
— Issuance of Letter of Rogatory under Section 166A
of Cr.P.C. without following procedure under Section
155(2), whether justified?
The Supreme Court Bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Chief Justice S.A.
Bobde, Hon’ble Mr. Justice B.R. Gavai and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant on 8-
1-2020 issued notice in the Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 10683
of 2019 filed by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence against the Judgment and
Order dated 17-10-2019 of Bombay High Court in Criminal Writ Petition No.
3818 of 2018 as reported in 2019 (368) E.L.T. 781 (Bom.) (Adani Enterprises Ltd. v.
Union of India). While issuing notice, the Supreme Court passed the following
order :
“Issue notice returnable in two weeks.
Until further orders there shall be interim stay of operation of the im-
pugned final judgment and order dated 17-10-2019 passed by the High
Court.”
The Bombay High Court in its impugned order had held that the issu-
ance of Letter of Rogatory (LR) for causing investigation abroad under Section
166A of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for criminal offences punishable un-
der Section 135 of Customs Act, 1962, was not sustainable without following the
procedure mandated by sub-section (2) of Section 155 of the said Code which is
mandatory in nature.
REPRESENTED BY : Mr. Tushar Mehta, SG, Mr. Aman Lekhi, ASG, Mr. B.
Krishna Prasad, AOR, Mr. Zoheb Hossain, Ms. Shirin
Khajuria, Ms. Nisha Bagchi and Mr. Kanu Agarwal,
Advocates, for the Petitioner.
Mr. Vikram Nankani, Sr. Advocate, Mr. E.C. Agrawa-
la, AOR, Mr. Mahesh Agarwal, Mr. Rishi Agrawala,
Mr. Amit Kapur, Ms. Aanchal Mullick and Mr.
Utkarsh Pratap, Advocates, for the Respondent.
Road construction equipment — Hydraulically operated
self-propelled piling rig imported for use in NHAI
projects, whether eligible to exemption under Notifi-
cation No. 21/2002-Cus. when same used in projects
other than of NHAI?
The Supreme Court Bench comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arun Mishra
and Hon’ble Mr. Justice S. Ravindra Bhat on 13-11-2019 after condoning the de-
lay issued notice in Civil Appeal Diary No. 33104 of 2019 filed by Commissioner
of Customs (Import), Mumbai against the CESTAT Final Order Nos. A/88154-
88156/2018-WZB, dated 19-12-2018 as reported in 2019 (369) E.L.T. 918 (Tri.-
Mumbai) (Gammon India Ltd. v. Commissioner).
The Appellate Tribunal in its impugned order had held that hydraulical-
ly operated self-propelled piling rig imported under an undertaking that the
same will be exclusively used for construction of roads under agreement with
National Highways Authority of India, is eligible to exemption under Notifica-
tion No. 21/2002-Cus. so long as the said equipment is used for construction of

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