ARJUN TULSIDAS JAGWANI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the petitioner has sought quashment of the detention order dated March 27, 1989, passed under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act. 1974 (for short 'COFEPOSA Act') and a declaration dated April 17, 1989, issued under Section 9(1) of the COFEPOSA Act by respondent No. 3.

(2.) It is not necessary to refer to the facts of the case or to various grounds pleaded in the writ petition as this petition is liable to succeed on a very short point.

(3.) In para 18 of the petition it has been pleaded that the detenu made a representation dated September 3, 1989 through the Superintendent, Dum Dum Central Jail, Calcutta, und the same has'not been dealt with by the authorities with due promptitude. In the corresponding para in the counter- affidavit, it has been pleaded that representation was dated September 12, 1989 and not dated September 3, 1989 and was received in the Ministry on September 26, 1989 and the same was forwarded for comments to the sponsoring authority at Calcutta oil September 28, 1989, where it was received on October 3, 1989 and parawise comments dated October 6, 1989, were received on October 11, 1989 and the same were processed through the detaining authority and were put up to the Central Government on October 18, 1989, as October 13 to 15, 1989 were holidays and the detaining authority put up its report before the Minister of State for Revenue on October 19, 1989, who considered the representation and rejected the same subject to the approval of the Hon'ble Finance Minister on the same day and the Hon'ble Finance Minister considered the matter and rejected the representation on October 20, 1989 and the file was received back on October 23, 1989 while previous two days were holidays and the memo of rejection was issued on October 24, 1989. It is not mentioned in this affidavit as to when the rejection memo was communicated to the detenu. However, in the rejoinder, the detenu has pleaded that the rejection memo dated October 24, 1989 was served on him in Jail on November 11, 1989. This fact is not disputed before me.