Overview

• Justice Ziyad Rahman instructed Salmaan to apply under Section 110A to the Additional Commissioner of Customs, Kochi, with a decision due within one week.
• The court said any denial must be a reasoned, speaking order and asked that the vehicle’s long-standing registrations be considered in deciding release.
• Judicial intervention in the probe was declined at this stage, so the Land Rover Defender remains in customs custody during the ongoing inquiry.
• Customs told the court the SUV was seized under Section 110 based on a reasoned belief derived from intelligence inputs that it was smuggled.
• Salmaan asserted he purchased the 2004 Defender in good faith via bank transfers with supporting customs and registration documents, as the wider Operation Numkhor sweep that seized dozens of luxury cars continues.