Customs prosecution over foreign currency carried through Delhi airport ends in acquittal
Customs prosecuted an airport immigration official over an alleged plan to carry foreign currency worth Rs 27,77,263 from Delhi to Hong Kong. The Delhi High Court dismissed Customs' appeal and left the official's acquittal intact because the necessary evidence had not been proved.
This page records what the cited court, tribunal and government records say happened. Findings belong to the court or authority that made them; this register adds none of its own. Names of private individuals are withheld unless a naming gate clears them.
How we verify →The trial-court acquittal of the airport immigration official remains in force after the Delhi High Court dismissed Customs' appeal.
What happened
The High Court recorded that Customs intercepted a departing passenger at Indira Gandhi International Airport on the night of 16-17 April 1999 and found assorted foreign currencies valued at Rs 27,77,263 in his bag.
The High Court recorded the prosecution allegation that an immigration official arranged for the currency to be handed to the passenger inside the airport for carriage to Hong Kong.
The High Court said the passenger and a café attendant pleaded guilty and were convicted, although the available record did not reveal their sentences. The immigration official contested the prosecution and was acquitted by the trial court.
The High Court found that Customs had not established the evidence needed against the immigration official. It dismissed Customs' appeal on 11 February 2026.
What the record says
“17. In the result, the appeal, sans merit, is dismissed. Application(s), if any, pending, shall stand closed.”
CRL.A. 872/2016, paragraph 17, page 26 — read the full text
A peaceful economic act
The prosecuted conduct was arranging or carrying foreign currency outside the authorised system. The judgment records no violence, coercion, fraud against a private person or other complaining victim.
What we could not confirm
The incident occurred in 1999; 11 February 2026 is the date of the latest official act. The High Court said the record did not reveal the sentences imposed on the passenger and café attendant who pleaded guilty. The selected person was acquitted, so no penalty applies to him.