BISHAN DAYAL VAISH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner through the present writ petition filed under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India has approached this Court for quashment of the detention order bearing F.No. 673/29/92-Cus. VIII dated 29.1.92 passed by Shri Mahender Prasad, Joint Secretary, Government of India, against the petitioner.

(2.) Brief facts which led to the present petition are as under; that during the intervening night of 5th & 6th January, 1992 the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence laid a riad at a godown situated at Rewari Road,village surana, Narnaul, District Mahendergarh (Haryana), which was in the occupation of the petitioner and his son Shri Vishwanath, as a corollary whereof silver weighing 5301.384 kgs. valued at Rs. 4,18,80,933.00 and Indian currency to the tune of Rs. 2,25,000.00 besides some incriminating documents, were recovered. The petitioner and his son Shri Vishwanath were arrested on 6.1.1992. They were forced to make a statement under Section 108 of the Customs Act. They were produced before a Magistrate on 7.1.1992. The petitioner and .bis son Shri Vishwanath through their application dated 21.1.1992 retracted their statements made by them under Section 108 of the Customs Act. The petitioner made a representation against his illegal detention on 6.2.1992. The said representation was rejected vide order dated 5.3.1992. The petitioner made another representation on 11.3.1992 addressed to the Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue. The said representation of the petitioner was rejected on 3.4.1992. The detention order dated 29.1.1992 is illegal and invalid inasmuch as the detaining authority while passing the impugned detention order look into consideration quite a good number of irrelevant documents which have got absolutely no nexus, proximity or link with the alleged prejudicial activities of the petitioner.

(3.) The respondent through their counter have not challenged the facts of the present case. However, through their counter they have asserted that the impugned detention order is quite legal and valid and the same was passed after due deliberations and after taking into consideration all the documents annexed with the detention order and which were supplied to the petitioner. Thus, the present writ petition, is liable to be dismissed.