Customs Act, 1962 — Chapter XIII: Searches, Seizure and Arrest
103. Power to screen or X-ray bodies of suspected persons for detecting secreted goods
- Where a proper officer has reason to believe that a person referred to in section 100 has secreted inside his body any goods liable to confiscation, or any incriminating document, he may detain and produce the person before a magistrate.
- The magistrate, if satisfied there is reasonable ground, may direct the person be subjected to screening or X-ray to determine whether goods/documents are secreted inside the body, and may direct suitable action for bringing them out, including hospitalisation where necessary.
- If, before the magistrate’s order, the proper officer believes it is necessary to have the person screened or X-rayed immediately, he may, for reasons to be recorded, produce him before a registered medical practitioner, willing to do so, and the goods brought out are seizable.
