A fabric importer has moved the Madras High Court seeking a compensation of Rs 50 lakh from various central government authorities for his "wrongful" arrest, confinement in jail and for loss of reputation.
Abhishek Rajan, a businessman, had imported about 60,000 metres of woven dyed fabric, also known as ramie fabric from China, which required him to pay a customs duty of Rs 13 lakh.
After the fabric was sent to the Regional Laboratory Textile Committee under the government of India for testing, a report dated August 9, 2011 said the fabric was not as declared by Rajan but linen woven dyed fabric. Citing this, the Customs Department charged Rs 1.07 crore duty and framed charges against him for attempting to evade duty.
After his plea for re-testing was deferred, he was arrested on August 3, 2011. His simultaneous bail pleas were rejected by the Magistrate and Sessions Court.
Later, the High Court granted him bail with stringent conditions. Meanwhile, Rajan had spent 50 days in jail.
After being released on bail, he moved the court with a plea for re-assessment of his imported material and a Mumbai-based laboratory concluded that Rajan's declaration was correct.
Armed with its report and an apology from Chennai-based laboratory report, Rajan has now sought exemplary damages of Rs 50 lakh for his imprisonment and loss of reputation in business.
When the matter came up today, Justice K K Sasidharan ordered issue of notice to the Customs and other central government authorities.
