The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Commissioner of Customs to release a parcel of feeding tubes imported from the U.S. to an oral cancer survivor, within 24 hours.
A Division Bench of Justices S.J. Kathawalla and N.R. Borkar was hearing a plea filed by Samir Patel. The petition said Mr. Patel was diagnosed with oral cancer in December 2016, and due to remedial surgical operations, he can only consume food/nutrients through feeding tubes.
He has to purchase the tubes from the U.S, and recently had four boxes shipped through a courier agency. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs, however, has withheld the parcel on grounds that are unclear to Mr Patel, the petition said. No alternative product is available in India, and the stock with Mr. Patel will last only for a few days, he said.
On Tuesday, the HC had directed the authorities to be present in court on Thursday and explain the difficulty in releasing the parcel. On Thursday, The court directed the Commissioner of Customs to process the documents received and ensure the parcel was handed over to Mr. Patel’s lawyers within 24 hours.
