POORAN CHAND SHARMA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayer in the present Writ Petition is for issuance of a writ of Habeas Corpus under Article 226 of the Constitution of India calling upon the Respondents to forthwith set the Petitioner at liberty after quashing and setting aside the detention order dated 02.06.2010 bearing No.673/08/10 -Cus.VIII passed under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (for short „the COFEPOSA Act?).

(2.) THE facts succinctly stated are that information was received by the Delhi Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement, New Delhi that an organized Syndicate headed by one Naresh Kumar Jain was actively involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions through a wide hawala network and that the said Shri Naresh Kumar Jain had been a person resident outside India, who had stayed in Dubai from 1995 till May, 2009, and was currently in India without any valid documents. In Dubai, he was engaged in the arrangement and transfer of foreign exchange to various persons in India. At the same time, he also controlled the financial transactions and hawala receipts in India through a number of companies. In the said transactions, the export invoices were manipulated by constantly mixing licit and illicit financial transactions in India to give a genuine basis to the unauthorized transfer of foreign exchange through banking channels. Even after his return to India in May, 2009, he continued to engage in the same businesses in which he was engaged during his stay at Dubai including arranging foreign exchange for Indian parties. S/Sh. Manoj Garg, Pooran Chand Sharma (the Petitioner in the present writ petition), Bimal Jain and Satpal Jain other members of the Syndicate were actively associated with him (Shri Naresh Kumar Jain) and assisted him in the conduct of his illegal activities in and from India.

(3.) APPREHENDING detention by way of execution of the order of detention passed by the Joint Secretary to the Government of India, the Petitioner on 25.08.2010 and 07.09.2010 filed two Writ Petitions (Criminal) bearing Nos.91/2010 and 97/2010 in the Hon?ble Supreme Court of India under Article 32 of the Constitution of India at the pre -execution stage. Writ Petition (Criminal) No.91/2010 was listed on 25.08.2010 before the Hon?ble Supreme Court and an order of stay of execution of the detention order was passed. Both the said writ petitions were however withdrawn on 01.10.2013.