Someone has been stopped at the airport: find out these four things first
Find out which agency is holding the person, whether they have been arrested or are only being questioned, what has been seized, and where and when they will be produced before a Magistrate. Every next step, from bail to a reply to a show cause notice, depends on those four answers.
- The agency. Customs (often its Air Intelligence Unit at the arrival hall), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Bureau of Immigration, the Narcotics Control Bureau, or the local airport police after a handover by CISF. Each works under a different law and a different procedure.
- Detained or arrested. Many passengers are questioned, given a detention receipt for the goods and allowed to leave. A formal arrest is different: the person must be given the grounds of arrest in writing.
- The paperwork. A detention receipt, seizure memo or panchnama should list what was taken, its weight or amount, and the officer's name. Ask for a copy. Under the Customs baggage regulations in force since 2 February 2026, the detention receipt carries photographs and contact details so that later notices can reach the passenger.
- Production. A person arrested by Customs must be taken to a Magistrate without unnecessary delay (Customs Act, 1962, section 104(2)), and no one may be held beyond 24 hours without a Magistrate's order (Article 22(2) of the Constitution; BNSS section 58).
Before signing anything. Read every form. A pre-printed form waiving the show cause notice and personal hearing does not satisfy section 124 of the Customs Act. A statement recorded under section 108 can be used later as evidence, so its wording matters.
Who stops travellers at Indian airports, and under which law
Airport cases look alike from outside the terminal. The agency involved decides almost everything that follows: whether there is an arrest, which court hears bail, and how the goods or the travel restriction can be challenged.
| Agency | Typical situation | Main law | What usually follows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customs (baggage officers, Air Intelligence Unit) | Undeclared gold, jewellery, electronics or currency, usually in the green channel | Customs Act, 1962; Baggage Rules, 2026 | Detention receipt, show cause notice, adjudication; arrest under section 104 in larger cases |
| Directorate of Revenue Intelligence | Intelligence-led interceptions, concealment, repeat carriers, syndicate cases | Customs Act, 1962; COFEPOSA, 1974 | Summons under section 108, arrest, prosecution, sometimes a preventive detention order |
| Bureau of Immigration | Look Out Circular match, document irregularities, overstays | MHA Look Out Circular guidelines; Passports Act, 1967; Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 | Travel stopped; the person may be handed to the agency that opened the LOC or to local police |
| CISF and airport police | Security-check finds such as cartridges or weapons | Arms Act, 1959; BNS, 2023 | FIR at the airport police station, arrest or notice, bail before the Magistrate |
| NCB, or Customs acting under the NDPS Act | Narcotics in baggage or carried internally | NDPS Act, 1985 | Arrest, search-procedure scrutiny, the section 37 bail bar for commercial quantity |
Bailable or not: the Customs Act threshold
Most baggage cases are bailable. A Customs Act offence becomes non-bailable only in the categories listed in section 104(6): duty evaded above ₹50 lakh, undeclared goods with a market price above ₹1 crore, certain specially notified prohibited goods, or drawback or instrument fraud above ₹50 lakh. Every other offence under the Act is bailable (section 104(7)).
In a bailable case the arresting Customs officer has the same power to release on bail as an officer in charge of a police station (section 104(3)), and the Magistrate must grant bail. In a non-bailable case the application goes to the Magistrate and, if refused, to the Sessions Court or the High Court.
Arrest is not automatic even where the value is high. Section 104(1) requires the officer to have "reason to believe" that an offence has been committed. This is a higher standard than suspicion, the reasons must be recorded in writing, and the safeguards of criminal procedure apply to Customs arrests: identification of the officer, an attested arrest memo, intimation to a nominated person, and access to a lawyer during interrogation. Anticipatory bail can be sought before any complaint is filed where the fear of arrest is real.
Drugs cases are different. Under the NDPS Act the twin conditions of section 37 apply to commercial quantities, and the analysis starts with quantity and the search record. See NDPS arrest at the airport.
Statements to Customs are evidence; statements to NDPS officers are not confessions
Customs officers are not police officers, so a statement recorded under section 108 of the Customs Act can be used as evidence against the person who made it. A statement that was not voluntary, or not recorded the way it was given, should be retracted promptly and in writing, usually at the first production before the Magistrate.
The NDPS Act works the other way. Officers investigating under the NDPS Act are "police officers", so a confessional statement recorded under section 67 cannot be used to convict.
How we assist
- Same-day response when a person is being held: identifying the agency, the provision and the documents, and preparing the bail application for the first production.
- Replies to show cause notices, personal hearings and adjudication for seized gold, goods and currency, then appeals to the Commissioner (Appeals) and revision applications to the Central Government.
- Anticipatory bail and representation when a DRI or Customs summons arrives after travel.
- Look Out Circular checks, representations for withdrawal, travel-permission applications and writ petitions.
- NDPS bail and trial defence; COFEPOSA representations and habeas corpus petitions.
- Foreign nationals and NRIs: consular coordination, interpreters, and bail conditions that can actually be met.