PANKAJ KUMAR SHARMA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present petition has been filed by Pankaj Kumar Sharma challenging the legality and validity of the Preventive Detention order dated 9th April 2018 passed against him by Respondent No. 2 under Section 3(1) of Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act 1974 (hereinafter referred to as COFEPOSA) and all other proceedings emanating therefrom. The petitioner prays for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari for setting aside the said order.

(2.) Mr. Varun Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner stated that the impugned order is based on extraneous reasons inasmuch as the impugned order had been passed against the petitioner because he had raised his voice against a corrupt custom official in Patna, namely, Shri Sunil Kumar Singh who had been running a racket in Muzaffarpur to extort large amounts of money from the traders with threats that if the amount was not paid, the traders would be implicated in false cases. He pointed out that the petitioner had even filed a criminal case No. 43 of 2017 dated 12th January 2017 before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (West) Muzaffarpur in this regard.

(3.) He submitted that the Supreme Court in Additional Secretary to the Government of India & Ors. vs. Smt. Alka Subhash Gadia & Anr., 1992 Supp1 SCC 496 has held that a Preventive Detention order can be interfered with at the pre-execution stage if it is based on extraneous reasons. The relevant portion of the same is reproduced hereinbelow -