NEW DELHI: Baba Ramdev ’s Patanjali Ayurved has moved the Delhi High Court against the seizure of red sandalwood by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) that was being exported to China.DRI and the customs department seized more than 50 tonnes of red sanders logs along with documents and a passport belonging to a Patanjali representative, said people aware of the matter. Patanjali had permission to export Grade C sandalwood but the goods were seized on suspicion that they may have included better-quality Grade A and Grade B, they said.Patanjali said it has been abiding by the law. “We haven’t exported so far but are in the process of exporting red sanders wood purchased from APFDCL (Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corp Ltd) and we have not done anything wrong or illegal. Everything is as per law of (the) land,” a Patanjali spokesperson said in an email. “In this process of export, all documents and facts comprising purchase order, proforma invoice, physical goods at Krishnapatnam Port, rate of goods, permission and licence are for C category red sanders wood. APFDCL in Andhra Pradesh has verified the same.”He said Patanjali may have been the victim of rivals. “Some misleading and false information by trade persons with vested interests may have led to this investigation,” the person said. “Nowhere, issue of export of Category A or Category B arises.” One of the persons cited above said the consignments may have included superior grades.“They had sought permission to export inferior grade sandal woods,” he said. “We have reason to believe that along with some inferior grade perhaps some superior grade sandal woods are also being exported… We have asked them not to export till we complete our investigations.” Patanjali has asked the Delhi High Court to instruct DRI to release the goods.“The primary prayer of the writ petitioner is against the said seizure and for release of the same,” the high court said in a ruling on February 15, scheduling the next hearing for April 18. Patanjali got the wood in an eauction conducted by the Andhra Pradesh forest department. It had been seized from smugglers over the years.In 2013, following clearance from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Director General of Foreign Trade issued a notification amending the export import policy that paved the way for the Andhra Pradesh government to auction the red sanders.In 2014, the state government received a strong response from global buyers with bidders paying around Rs 30 lakh per tonne on average. The rate rose to as much as Rs 2 crore per tonne for top-quality Grade A logs, only limited stocks of which were available for auction.Patanjali was one of the biggest bidders in 2015, purchasing 706 tonnes of red sanders for Rs 207 crore. Experts said all the logs are coded by the forest department as export of sandalwood is banned but inferior grades are allowed. Red sanders is highly valued in China where it’s used to make gifts and furniture. The country is said to be the biggest importer of both legal and illegal red sanders.