The Bombay High Court has said sealing of a premises by the Customs department when it does not have explicit power to do so amounts to drastic action, which results in "tinkering with substantive rights of a person" to hold, use and occupy an immovable property.

A division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain in the order passed on Tuesday said it was of the opinion that the power to search cannot mean a power to seal and directed the Customs authorities to unseal the Navi Mumbai premises of a company.