JUDGMENT Dr. Sambuddha Chakrabarti, J. 1. THIS appeal under S. 130 (I) of the Customs Act, 1962 is at the instance of an importer and is directed against an order dated April 17, 2009 passed by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, Calcutta, in Customs Appeal No. C- 393/08. The Tribunal thereby dismissed the appeal filed by the importer/appellant against the order of the Commissioner of Customs (Appeals) in which the appellant challenged the order of the Additional Commissioner of Customs by which certain goods imported by the appellant were confiscated on the ground of obscenity. Penalty was also imposed. 2. A trader by profession who is the appellant before us, in course of its usual business imported a consignment of certain items which, the appellant asserts, were meant for sale to adults only. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Appraising Group-VI, issued a notice under S. 124 of the Customs Act asking the importer to show cause why the concerned goods should not be confiscated under S. 111 (d) of the Customs Act or penal action under S. 112 (a) of the Customs Act should not be taken against the importer for rendering the subject goods liable to confiscation by deliberate acts of unauthorised import. The main charge against the importer was that the goods imported were obscene in terms of the S. 292 (i) of the Indian Penal Code as it appeared to them to be lascivious and appealed to the prurient interest and that its effect would tend to deprave and corrupt persons who were likely to read, see, hear and enact the instructions contained or embodied in it. Other charges against the importer were, as appearing from the show cause notice, that these goods were not suitable to young persons. The appellant sent a reply to the said show cause notice wherein a very specific point of law was taken that the notice was bad in law as the authority issuing the notice had no competence to do so. The appellant sent a reply to the said show cause notice wherein a very specific point of law was taken that the notice was bad in law as the authority issuing the notice had no competence to do so. The value of the goods was more than rupees two lac and in terms of S. 122 (b) of the Customs Act and also in terms of the Boards circular an Assistant Commissioner of Customs had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the case having value of more than rupees two lac and under S. 124 of the said Act he cannot issue any notice recommending confiscation of goods without prior approval of an officer not below the rank of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs. On the charges of obscenity the appellant had given a detailed reply claiming that the word obscene has not been properly defined in the Act and that far more sexually explicit literature and materials were freely available in shops and circulate in the country. As such the charge of obscenity did not lie. 3. IN the said answer to the show cause notice, it was specifically alleged that before importation of the consignment, the appellant had submitted a detailed letter to the Commissioner of Customs (Port) and the Public Relation Officer of the Customs House requesting for clarification regarding the eligibility of the importation of the subject goods. It was further alleged that the appellant also issued a reminder but the appellant did not receive any reply either from the Commissioner of Customs (Port) or from the PRO of the Customs House objecting to the import of the subject goods. This, according to the appellant, was in violation of the principles of Citizens Charter issued by the Ministry of Finance. The further specific point taken by the appellant was that ultimately the PRO had verbally instructed the appellant to import as she had been instructed by the higher authorities to convey to the appellant that there was no restriction on imports of those items. According to the appellant, after getting her verbal no-objection, the appellant went ahead with the import of the consignment in dispute. 4. IT was further pointed out in the answer that when the appellant filed the bill of entry for clearance of the imported goods, the same were examined in original and representative samples were taken for inspection. According to the appellant, after getting her verbal no-objection, the appellant went ahead with the import of the consignment in dispute. 4. IT was further pointed out in the answer that when the appellant filed the bill of entry for clearance of the imported goods, the same were examined in original and representative samples were taken for inspection. The Group Officers as well as Additional Commissioner of Customs, Group- VI, examined the same and after completion of examination of the goods, the appellant ran from pillar to post for getting the goods cleared but neither the goods were allowed for clearance nor was the appellant given any letter or query from the concerned group. Ultimately on January 7, 2008, the importer/appellant filed a writ-petition before this High Court for release of the goods which had been detained illegally by the departmental officers and at that stage, the appellant was surprised to receive the purported show cause notice issued by the Assistant Commissioner Customs, Appraising Group-VI, through their Customs Handling Agent. According to the appellant, the show cause notice illegally treated the furniture stand, drinking glass, gift in tin box, decorative tape, and toilet roll in tin as obscene without having any idea about the expression of obscenity. It was specifically asserted that those goods were freely available at all major metropolitan cities in India and were sold against proper bills. Some such items were purchased by the appellant and the appellant craved leave to produce those before the Assistant Commissioner at the time of hearing. A very specific case was taken by the importer was that the Assistant Commissioner did not consider the appellants case that the goods would be sold to purchasers not below the age of twenty and as such they did not come within the mischief of obscenity. 5. THE appellant had also filed a written submission before the Additional Commissioner of Customs, wherein the points taken in the reply to the show cause notice were elaborately discussed with reference to the specific materials otherwise freely available which, according to the appellant, were far more candid. It was insisted that the goods imported could never be lebelled as obscene. These were only adult games and there was a clear indication to that affect in the wrapprings on these items themselves. It was insisted that the goods imported could never be lebelled as obscene. These were only adult games and there was a clear indication to that affect in the wrapprings on these items themselves. As such the possibility of any young mans being corrupted by the evil influence did not arise as there was no possibility of selling the goods to minors or persons under the age of twenty. THE appellant also appended a list of documents in justification of the stand that the goods imported were not really obscene. THE appellant also charged the Customs authorities of discrimination as similar imported goods had been cleared by the Customs. 6. THE Additional Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata, heard the matter and by an order dated May 30, 2008, held that certain items of the consignment were obscene and objectionable and confiscated those items under S. 111 (b) of the Customs Act and imposed a penalty of Rs. 40,000/- to the importer under S. 112 (a) of the said Act. THE other goods which the Additional Commissioner did not consider as objectionable, were directed to be released. Against the said order the importer took out an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) under S. 128 of the Customs Act 1962. By an order dated September 26, 2008 the Commissioner had dismissed the appeal. Against that the appellant filed a further appeal before the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. THE Tribunal also by an order, dated April 17, 2009, dismissed the appeal. This order of the Tribunal has been impugned in the present appeal. At the hearing of the present appeal the sole proprietor of the importer /appellant appeared in person and took out a preliminary point of law about the competence of the authority issuing the show cause notice, as under S. 122 (b) of the Customs Act an Assistant Commissioner had no jurisdiction to adjudicate a confiscation proceeding in respect of goods liable to confiscation the value of exceeding rupees two lac. 7. MR. Hazra, the learned Advocate appearing for the respondents, tried to meet the said objection by claiming that the Additional Commissioner had authorised the Assistant Commissioner to issue the said notice. In support of his claim records were produced in court from which we were not convinced about any such authorisation. 7. MR. Hazra, the learned Advocate appearing for the respondents, tried to meet the said objection by claiming that the Additional Commissioner had authorised the Assistant Commissioner to issue the said notice. In support of his claim records were produced in court from which we were not convinced about any such authorisation. That apart, when the importer had taken the very specific point about the competence of the issuing authority before the Additional Commissioner, it was only expected that he would at least speak about the authorization said to have been made by him, in his order. He in fact has not touched on this point. If the claim of the respondents at the hearing was correct then it was only very surprising that in spite of a specific point being taken by the importer, the Additional Commissioner who is said to have authorised the Assistant Commissioner to issue the show cause notice, would not mention anything in his order about the alleged purported authorization. The silence thus militates against the claim of the respondents about the authorization and also suggests that the respondents had no answer to the point of law raised by the importer. The Commissioner of Customs as well as the Tribunal did not meet this basic point raised by the importer. 8. WHEN the statute requires that no action shall be initiated except without giving a notice and when the statute further mentions the competent authority in a given case to adjudicate the same and to issue a show cause the provision must be scrupulously adhered to and a notice by an incompetent person is definitely bad in law. This notice affected rights of the importer and, therefore, an incompetent notice has no force in law and any proceeding initiated thereon must be held to have vitiated the proceeding itself. Therefore, the proceedings and the orders respectively passed therein are liable to be set aside on that ground alone. At the hearing, however, submissions were made by both the parties touching on the merits of the case which calls for a detailed scrutiny about the basic charges against the importer. A Division Bench of this Court while admitting this appeal had formulated two grounds on which it would be heard. At the hearing, however, submissions were made by both the parties touching on the merits of the case which calls for a detailed scrutiny about the basic charges against the importer. A Division Bench of this Court while admitting this appeal had formulated two grounds on which it would be heard. But since the appeal was heard in details on merits as also on the validity of the initiation of the proceeding itself and since the respondents also had addressed us on these points we have decided to dispose of these points also. Mr. Hazra has strongly argued that some of the items of the consignment were truly obscene and were, therefore, liable to be confiscated. Mr. Hazra finds no fault with the actions taken by his clients. 9. TURNING to the merits of the case we are faced with a practical problem. A very difficult aspect of the law of obscenity is lack of any precise definition. Perhaps no authority in the world has been able to define obscenity in any concrete terms. It is true that in England in Obscene Publications Act, 1959, an attempt was made to provide a definition of obscenity: For the purposes of this Act an article shall be deemed to be obscene if its effect or (where the article comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of anyone of its items is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied it. 10. SUCH definition was not without the difficulties faced by a court of law while implementing it. Lord Wilberforce in DPP -vs- Whyte, reported in (1972) 3 All E. R. 12, noted the absence of any definition of deprave and corrupt as also the want of any guideline as to the kind of influence that was meant. His Lordship expressed certain alternatives whether it was criminal conduct, general or sexual that was feared or departure from some code of morality, sexual or otherwise or from accepted or other beliefs or arousing of erotic desires, normal or abnormal. His Lordship was of the opinion that some, perhaps most of these alternatives, involved deep questions of psychology and ethics. The misgiving was candidly expressed that the Act provided for a formula which could not be applied in practice. His Lordship was of the opinion that some, perhaps most of these alternatives, involved deep questions of psychology and ethics. The misgiving was candidly expressed that the Act provided for a formula which could not be applied in practice. Geoffrey Robertson in his celebrated work, Obscenity : An account of Censorship Laws and their Enforcement in England and Wales (London, 1979), had commented that the results were not tolerable for any rational system of law because of its uncertainty and incompatibility, largely revolving on the sexual outlook of the particular jurors. The formula of depravity and corruption was loyally applied by the courts, the author observed, but not without considerable confusion over the appropriate gloss which the English language could provide to assist jurors and justices in their task (45- 46). The lexical meaning of the word obscenity may not be of great help to us either. For example, according to Concise Oxford Dictionary, (9th edition), it means, amongst others, something offensively or repulsively indecent, especially by offending accepted sexual morality. The said lexicon further notes that according to British law it means anything tending to deprave or corrupt. That takes us to the consideration of a far deeper problem: depraving or corrupting whom? English judgments recognized a test as to whether the tendency of the matter charged as obscene was to deprave or corrupt those whose minds were open to such immoral influence and into whose hands a publication of this sort might fall. This test was enunciated by Chief Justice Cockburn in The Queen -vs- Hicklin ((1868) LR 3 Q B 360). Again, Lord Wilberforce in the case of Director of Public Prosecution -vs- Jordan ((1976) 3 All ER 775) observed that in each case it has to be decided who these readers are and so, evidence is usually given as to the type of shop or place where the material is, and as to the type of customer who goes there. When the class of likely reader has been ascertained, it is for the jury to say whether the tendency of the material is such as to deprave or corrupt them. 11. THESE tests may mutatis mutandis be considered as safe guides to determine whether the concerned materials satisfy the tests laid down on the subject. When the class of likely reader has been ascertained, it is for the jury to say whether the tendency of the material is such as to deprave or corrupt them. 11. THESE tests may mutatis mutandis be considered as safe guides to determine whether the concerned materials satisfy the tests laid down on the subject. The appellant has taken a very strong point about the absence of an expert opinion before the authorities concerned came to a conclusion that some of the materials of the consignment were obscene in nature. It appears from the order of the Additional Commissioner of Customs that the appellant was requested to let the department know about the names of the experts in the field. Ultimately, Sri S. Mukhopadhyay whose name was suggested by the appellant, was requested to come to the Customs House for inspecting and examining the samples. But he declined. 12. THE Additional Commissioner recorded that the importer could not give any further information regarding the experts on the subject. He ultimately concluded that to decide a case of this nature no expert opinion was necessary. It is true that the Supreme Court min the case of Ranjit D Udeshi -vs- State of Maharashtra, reported in A.I.R. 1965 S.C. 881, had observed that in a prosecution under S. 292 of the Indian Penal Code the offending novel or the portions which are the subject matter of the charge must be judged by the court. But at times an expert opinion may be valuable. THE Supreme Court also never meant to shut out the expert opinion altogether. Before the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal the appellant filed an application for placing on record an expert opinion given by Ms. Ratnottama Sengupta, a media commentator, an art critic and a member of the Advisory Panel of the Central Board of Film Certification and a former member of the General Council and the publication committee of Rastriya Lalitkala Academy and a jury of several National and International Film Festivals. Ms. Sengupta was of the view that one could not object to the goods in question and she recorded that in her capacity for the posts she had held, she had had on several occasions to draw a fine line between art erotica and obscenity. Ms. Sengupta was of the view that one could not object to the goods in question and she recorded that in her capacity for the posts she had held, she had had on several occasions to draw a fine line between art erotica and obscenity. After carefully looking at the samples of the catalogue provided by the importer she concluded that in the glass games there was nothing objectionable about the transparent glass in the shape of a womans torso and being colourless it has no realistic semblance to human flesh. About the dart and shooter games, she says : Neither the visuals nor the action are objectionable. The images are more in the nature of caricature, and the actions are intended to raise laughter, albeit among adults. Her opinion about the cartoon games : visuals are more in the nature of cartoons and primarily meant to explain what the frolicking couples can do to have a good time in their private moments. Ms. Sengupta very emphatically added: Every civilised society in the world permits adult entertainment within the privacy of their homes, without flouting moral values, and moral policing cannot be condoned when society itself has relaxed its notions of permissiveness in terms of dress code, marital status and even gender orientation. 13. SHE finally concluded: In view of the above facts, and considering that literature, cinema, advertisement, hoardings, lifestyle everything has undergone a sea change since sex education was introduced in schools it is my considered opinion that one cannot object to these games which are avowedly meant for adults who are expected to be responsible to their duties as parents and conscientious members of society. 14. THE Tribunal even after recording this opinion of this expert dismissed the same on the ground that this was given without taking into consideration the provisions of the Customs Act. This again is a baffling logic and unfathomable indeed. There would have been an occasion for such observation if the Customs Act had set out any parameter at all for adjudging any imported material as obscene or in any other manner exceeding the limits of civility. This Act does not throw any light on the formulation of the concept of obscenity or the tests for identification of the concerned materials as obscene except that it prohibits import of obscene books, pamphlets, etc. This Act does not throw any light on the formulation of the concept of obscenity or the tests for identification of the concerned materials as obscene except that it prohibits import of obscene books, pamphlets, etc. The Tribunal below quoted the rules printed on of some of the games in question and held that the offending goods were obscene and objectionable as the same were for group sex. Mr. Hazra, the learned Advocate appearing for the respondents, expressed an apprehension that the appellant might collect many persons to watch these games or to be parties thereto and as such the import of such articles should not be allowed. 15. THIS apprehension again sounds rather far-fetched. If that be so, no film certified by the Censor Board as for adults only may also not be released. For, one cannot really pre-empt the possibility of young people sneaking into or making arrangements for viewing these adult films. On such analogy everything meant for an adult including an adult book or a film, may equally be vulnerable to a young man. On this logic import of an article cannot be prohibited on the slender ground of an uncertain eventuality. 16. TO decide whether an article has a baneful effect and if it may deprave a young mind there are certain fixed and objective parameters, psychological standards, community standards and the like. Geoffery Robertson in his treatise on Obscenity (supra) refers to a Canadian case and observes that the community whose standards are relevant must be the entire population and not those which dominate a particular locality or class. Without first appreciating the target users of these games the conclusion reached by the authorities below on the basis of personalised value judgment is not sustainable in law. The Commissioner of Customs (Appeals), held that obscenity was not confined to persons below the age of 20 years only. According to him adults can also be depraved and corrupted because the law laid down in S. 292 of the Indian Penal Code makes no distinction between an adult and a person on tender age. We are, therefore, required to consider the provisions of S. 292 of the Indian Penal Code which reads as follows: S. 292. According to him adults can also be depraved and corrupted because the law laid down in S. 292 of the Indian Penal Code makes no distinction between an adult and a person on tender age. We are, therefore, required to consider the provisions of S. 292 of the Indian Penal Code which reads as follows: S. 292. Sale, etc., of obscene books, etc.- (1) For the purposes of subsection (2), a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object, shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it. 1. Whoever- 1. sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any manner puts into circulation, or for purposes of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or circulation, makes, produces or has in his possession any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing, painting, representation of figure or any other obscene object whatsoever, or 2. imports, exports or conveys any obscene object for any of the purposes aforesaid, or knowing or having reason to believe that such object will be sold, let to hire, distributed or publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation, or 3. takes part in or receives profits from any business in the course of which he knows or has reason to believe that any such obscene objects are, for any of the purposes aforesaid, made produced, purchased, kept, imported, exported, conveyed, publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation, or 4. advertises or makes known by any means whatsoever that any person is engaged or is ready to engage in any act which is an offence under this section, or that any such obscene object can be procured from or through any person, or 5. advertises or makes known by any means whatsoever that any person is engaged or is ready to engage in any act which is an offence under this section, or that any such obscene object can be procured from or through any person, or 5. offers or attempts to do any act which is an offence under this section, shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, and, in the event of a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and also with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees. Exception. This section does not extend to- 1. any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation or figure- 1. the publication of which is proved to be justified as being for the public good on the ground that such book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation or figure is in the interest of science, literature, art or learning or other objects of general concern, or 2. which is kept or used bona fide for religious purposes; 2. any representation sculptured, engraved, painted or otherwise represented on or in (2) any ancient monument within the meaning of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958), or (3) any temple, or on any car used for the conveyance of idols, or kept or used for any religious purpose. A bare reading of this section makes it clear that it does not provide for any definition of obscenity as such. Instead, what we get are certain condition which the legislature thought would, if satisfied, bring any matter within the mischief of obscenity. 17. IN Chandrakanta Kalyandas Kakodar -vs- State of Maharastra and others, reported in AIR 1970 S.C. 1390 , the Supreme Court while considering whether a certain matter fell within the mischief of being obscene, observed that it was the duty of the court to consider the obscene matter by taking an overall view of the entire work and to determine whether the obscene passages were likely to deprave and corrupt those whose minds were open to such influences and in whose hands the book was likely to fall. The Supreme Court was very conscious that the standard of morality varied from country to country. IN this connection an observation is very instructive : But to insist that the standard should always be for the writer to see that the adolescent ought not to be brought into contact with sex or that if they read any references to sex in what is written whether that is the dominant theme or not they would be affected, would be to require authors to write books only for the adolescents and not for the adults. 18. THE Supreme Court the case of Chandrakanta (supra) further recognised that the standards of contemporary society in India are also fast changing. THE adults and adolescents have available to them a large number of classics, novels, stories and pieces of literature which have a content of sex, love and romance. THE Supreme Court in this case referred to an observation made in the judgment of Ranjit D Udeshi -vs- State of Maharastra, (supra) to the effect that if a reference to sex by itself is considered obscene no books can be sold except those which are purely religious. A matter which was considered fifty years ago as obscene, with the changing social values, norms, dissemination of knowledge, technological progress, more advanced audio and visual devices is perhaps no longer considered as such. The apex Court observed in Chandrakanta (supra) that in the field of art and cinema the adolescent is shown situations which even a quarter of a century ago would be considered derogatory to public morality, but having regard to the changed conditions are more taken for granted without in any way tending to debase or debauch the mind. What we have to see is that whether a class, not an isolated case, into whose hands the book, article or story falls suffer in their moral outlook or become depraved by reading it or might have impure and lecherous thoughts aroused in their minds. The charge of obscenity must, therefore be judged from this aspect. What we have to see is that whether a class, not an isolated case, into whose hands the book, article or story falls suffer in their moral outlook or become depraved by reading it or might have impure and lecherous thoughts aroused in their minds. The charge of obscenity must, therefore be judged from this aspect. Justice Hidaiyatullah, in the case of Ranjit D Udeshi (supra), pointed out that it was not easy to draw the two tests for labeling a work as obscene because art has such varied facets and such individualistic appeals that in the same object the sensitive sees only the obscenity because his attention is arrested not by the general or artistic appeal or message, which he cannot comprehend, but by what he can see, and the intellectual sees beauty and art but nothing gross. 19. AGAIN in a more recent case of Ajoy Goshwami -vs- Union of India, reported in AIR 2007 S.C. 493 , the apex court was considering an Advocates petition praying to the court to direct the authorities to strike a reasonable balance between the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression enjoyed by the press and the duty of the government to protect the vulnerable minors from abuse, exploitation and harmful effects of such expression. While dismissing the writ petition Supreme Court referred to various decisions and held that the definition of obscenity differed from culture to culture, between communities within a single culture and also between individuals within those communities. The Supreme Court further held that any steps to ban publishing of certain news pieces or pictures would fetter the indepence of free press which is one of the hallmarks of our democratic set up. The Supreme Court aptly cautioned that the members of the public and readers should not look for meanings in a picture or written article which is not conceived to be conveyed through the picture or news item. It was further observed that fertile imagination of anybody especially of minors should not be a matter that should be agitated in the court of law. 20. KEEPING this in mind and on the face of it we do not think that these articles should be adjudged as obscene. Regard being had to the prevailing social mores and standards of morals in our country the goods and items do not reflect anything obscene. 20. KEEPING this in mind and on the face of it we do not think that these articles should be adjudged as obscene. Regard being had to the prevailing social mores and standards of morals in our country the goods and items do not reflect anything obscene. Such is not the finding of the Tribunal either. Merely because the rules of some of the games may have an erotic and aphrodisiac content or may have a titillating effect for arousing sexual desires these items, without anything more, cannot be lebelled as obscene. The rules of the game have not employed any offensive language. In our opinion, an article or instruction suggesting various modes for stimulating the enjoyment of sex, if not expressed in any lurid or filthy language, cannot be branded as obscene. If that not be so, books like Kame Satra should also be banned on the charge of obscenity as this ancient Sanskrit treatise on the art of love and sexual techniques also candidly contains various instructions for heightening the pleasures of sexual enjoyment. Acquisition of knowledge for enjoyment of sex through various means is not by itself a prohibited activity, provided it is not done through obscene language or pictures. The concerned items are meant for adults and as such their importation for restricted sale to adults only should not be considered to be on the wrong side of the law. 21. THUS, it is obvious that neither the Customs authorities nor the Tribunal below could approach the whole issue in the perspective of the settled legal positions and the changing modern concepts. On the other hand, morality has been conceptualized by some vague and individualized standards and imposed in an overbearing manner. The Tribunal below while passing the impugned order has simply not cared to offer any reason why it considered the concerned items as obscene. Merely by reciting the rules of the games as printed on individual items, the same cannot be adjudged as obscene without anything more. Assigning tangible and substantial reasons was particularly necessary because obscenity has neither any fixed definition nor an inflexible standard. Instead what we get in the Tribunals order is only a conclusion that it considered certain items as obscene and practically nothing more. 22. Assigning tangible and substantial reasons was particularly necessary because obscenity has neither any fixed definition nor an inflexible standard. Instead what we get in the Tribunals order is only a conclusion that it considered certain items as obscene and practically nothing more. 22. THE Customs authorities as also the Tribunal below failed to appreciate that when certain goods were to be sold to a certain section of the population i.e. the adults in the present case, they were expected to conduct themselves in a responsible and adult manner. THE apprehension that if they fall in the hands of the minors or young men they are likely to deprave their morals, is not a sustainable logic for confiscating the goods. As mentioned earlier, moral standards vary from community to community and from person to person within one society itself. The morals of the present day in our society also do not represent a uniform pattern. The variations and the variables inside a certain society are also crucial considerations while judging whether an object comes within the mischief of obscenity. We cannot shut our eyes to the changes that are taking place in our society as we cannot be blind to the kind of advertisements, newspaper articles, pictures and photographs which are regularly being published and most certainly with a target viewers and readership in mind. Any close observer will definitely reckon the vast changes that have taken place around us, particularly in the field of audio and visual representations which are dinned into our ears or which arrest our ocular tastes. A certain shift in the moral and sexual standard is very easily discernable over the years and we may take judicial note of it. The appellant has produced many articles of high circulating newspapers and reputed magazines which are freely available in the market. Judged by that, these items which were produced in courts, do not appear to be more sexually explicit than many of those which are permitted to be published in leading journals and magazines. 23. WE are fully conscious of the possible alternative view that the fact that an obscene material published in any newspaper etc. and is not proceeded against is no reason for not frowning upon something else if they are found to be lascivious in nature and appealing to prurient interest. But we may also approach the whole issue from a different angle. and is not proceeded against is no reason for not frowning upon something else if they are found to be lascivious in nature and appealing to prurient interest. But we may also approach the whole issue from a different angle. The fact that they are allowed to hit the newspaper and magazine stands without any intervention by the authorities, by itself suggests that the appropriate authorities do not consider them as improper publications. The news papers and the magazines which have been produced in court by the appellant were not meant for clandestine publications. They were meant for open sale and without any restriction of readership relating to age. 24. FOR such reasons, we hold that the Customs authorities and the Tribunal below have all committed a serious error in holding the relevant goods as obscene so as to render them prohibited articles. Consequently, the order of confiscation and imposition of penalty is not sustainable in law. The appeal is thus allowed. We accordingly set aside the order of the Tribunal below confirming the orders of the Customs authorities. We direct the Customs authorities to release the goods within a month from date in favour of the appellant subject to payment of the requisite customs duties and after complying with the requirements therefor. In the facts and circumstances there will, however, no order as to costs. Urgent Xerox certified copy, if applied for, will be supplied within seven days from the date of the application.