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The OP appears to be a resident Indian, and that might account for the difference in treatment. Foreigners and NRIs are more trouble than they are worth, which is why they are not messed with. There is a lot of profiling going on in the officer's mind (your nationality, occupation, duration of stay, appearance etc), and that's no different from anywhere else in the world.
My only experience with Customs was when I was bringing in a PC. I actually wanted to pay the duty which was a small sum anyway. It took the customs officer forever to find the paperwork and write up the invoice. He clearly hadn't done this in a long time. Then off to the bank to get money exchanged. It's ridiculous that duty must be paid in rupees, which are illegal to hold outside of India and therefore would be illegal to hold at the point of entry (maybe that rule has been relaxed now). Overall I spent about 40 minutes, and had the satisfaction of a legally imported PC together with a nice story to tell.
FYI, when your checkin luggage reaches the carousel it's already been x-rayed. If you find a chalk mark on the box, it's been tagged. Carry a wet tissue with you and covertly erase the chalk mark.
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