Dulquer Salmaan moves Kerala High Court to challenge seizure of his Land Rover Defender by customs

Malayalam cinema star Dulquer Salmaan approached the Kerala High Court on 26 September after the seizure of his luxury vehicle by customs officials. He sought relief after his car was taken during a raid earlier this week.

The development comes in the wake of Operation Numkhor, a large-scale investigation launched by the Customs Preventive wing. The operation, whose name is derived from the Bhutanese word Numkhor, meaning vehicle, targeted around 30 locations across the state, including residences of well-known actors such as Prithviraj Sukumaran, Dulquer Salmaan, and Amit Chakkalackal. During the raids, officials reportedly seized 38 high-end luxury cars suspected to have been smuggled into India from Bhutan using forged papers.

Dulquer Salmaan’s plea

At Dulquer’s residence, officials seized a 2004 model Land Rover Defender, which the actor is said to have purchased last year. In his petition, however, Dulquer challenged the legality of the seizure, asserting that the vehicle was puchased from the Indian Red Cross. The actor maintained that the vehicle had valid ownership and was registered appropriately. There was no reason for him to suspect that the import or sale was illegal, the plea stated.

He further maintained that the car had been registered properly and accompanied by the required documentation. “Though the available documents were handed over to the officials, there was total refusal to look into the same while carrying out the seizure in a hasty and arbitrary fashion,” the petition further stated.

The actor also submitted that he had made a representation to the Customs department on 25 September, explaining his ownership of the car and sharing all relevant documents. However, their refusal to release the vehicle forced him to move the High Court. Dulquer argued that if the car remains unused and exposed to the elements for an extended period, it could sustain damage beyond repair. He therefore sought directions from the court for its release.

Legal proceedings

The petition was heard by Justice Ziyad Rahman of the Kerala High Court. Dulquer was represented by a legal team comprising Advocates G Mini, P Fazil, Saju Thaliath, VV Jayasree, Jithin Paul Varghese, C Prathibha, Fadil Fazil, Aswathy Jayachandran, and Akshaya Thomas. The court has now granted the customs authorities additional time to file their response and furnish instructions. The matter has been posted for further hearing on 30 September.