The Bombay High Court, while pulling up a Senior Officer of the Customs department for giving a “no-objection” for the granting of anticipatory bail to an accused booked in a fraud amounting to Rs 34 crore, said that this was “not the way a public officer should function” and summoned him to appear before the court on Tuesday.

The HC judge also questioned if the law was equal for everyone, noting that while an FIR is registered against a flat purchaser who defaults on a home loan, when an industrialist takes a Rs 22,000-crore loan, only Rs 6 crore is required to be paid.

A single-judge bench of Justice Madhav J Jamdar was hearing the anticipatory bail plea of an accused in connection with an alleged customs fraud involving Rs 34 crore.

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The judge then took exception to the affidavit filed by Abhishek Mehra, Senior Intelligence Officer, Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (Import), Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva in Raigad, which stated that the department had no objection to the grant of anticipatory bail.

“Who are you to decide who should be given anticipatory bail or not? You are a public officer. The modus operandi is, it is shown that the goods are imported from a country with which we are having a concession over customs duty to be paid, and in fact the goods are imported from Saudi Arabia by this method. It is not your own money. How could such a type of affidavit be filed?” Justice Jamdar orally questioned.

“If a poor person commits a theft of Rs 500, he is immediately taken into custody, and such types of white-collar criminals are roaming. It is a very serious offence where 34 crores of public money is involved, and unfortunately, Abhishek Mallick, Senior Intelligence Officer, Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch (Import), filed an affidavit stating that the Respondent has no objection to the grant of anticipatory bail,” the judge noted and sought the withdrawal of the affidavit.

“If a loan is taken by a flat purchaser and not paid, his flat is mortgaged, an FIR is lodged. If an industrialist takes Rs 22,000 crore, 6 crore is paid, and he is clear. So is the law not equal for everybody when public money is involved?,” The judge questioned Customs and sought the officer’s presence before the court on Tuesday.