DEVKI NANDAN ALIAS RAJU Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Devki Nandan @ raju has filed this writ petition under Artical of the Constitution of India read with Section 182 of the Criminal Procedure Code with a prayer that the detention order dated 19th August, 1991 passed by Shri Mahinder Prashad, respondent No. 2 under Section 3 (1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') be quashed and that the respondent be restrained from implementing the said detention order.

(2.) On 19th August, 1991 in exercise of the powers under Section 3 (1) of the Act Shri Mahinder Prashad, Joint Secretary to the Government of India and a specially empowered officer directed that Devki Nandan @ Raju son of Shri Banwari Lal resident of A-6/8 Rana Pratap Bagh be detained and kept in custody in the Central Jail, Tihar, New Delhi with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the augmentation of foreign exchange and from dealing in smuggled goods otherwise than by engaging in transporting or concealing or keeping smuggled goods.

(3.) The petitioner has claimed that a detention order was paassed against his brother Shiv Shanker on 19th August, 1991 who had been arrested in p73 pursuance of the said order to whom the grounds of detention were served and that he obtained a copy of the grounds for issuing of the detention order against him. According to the averments made in the said grounds of detention, it has been stated that on 10th July, 1991 the officers of the Enforcement Directorate Delhi zone intercepted one three-wheeler scooter DL-IR-6227 when it was crossing the red light crossing of Malka Ganj and apprehended Dilli Prashad Sharma @ Keshav Sharma and Kamal Sharma when the scooter was driven by one Mahboob Ali. 19,500 US Dollars were recovered from the shoes worn by Dilli Prashad which were seized by the officers of the Enforcement Dirctorate. Their statement were recorded and it was revealed by them that this amount was taken by them from Devkinandan and his brother Shiv Shanker, Residential house of Shiv Shanker and Devki Nandan @ Raju was searched when Indian Currency of Rs.2,06,750.00 besides documents were recovered and seized after preparing a Panchnama. Devki Nandan managed to escape from the premises during the search. Statement of Shiv Shanker was recorded in terms of Section 40 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act when it was, inter alia, stated by him that he and his brother had been dealing in gold biscuits and that the amount of Rs. 2.06.750.00 recovered from their house was the sale proceeds of gold biscuits and that the incriminating writing recovered from the house was in the hand of Devki Nandan, petitioner. Accordingly the order dated 19th August, 1991 was passed for detention of the petitioner.