LALIT KUMAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition Lalit Kumar is seeking issuance of a writ for quashing the impugned detention order passed on 5th March, 1988 by Shri K. L. Verma, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, specially empowered under Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (for short the COFEPOSA Act) directing that the petitioner be detained in Central Jail, Amritsar. The order was made with 'a view to preventing the petitioner from engaging in transporting smuggled goods. Till today that order has not been executed.

(2.) A number of grounds have been urged in the petition but before us only two contentions were raised, i.e.

(3.) In our view both the above contentions are well founded. However, before we deal with the rival submissions of the learned counsel, at the outset it may be noticed that because of the settled view which we have taken in a number of cases, the respondents are not objecting to the maintainability of the petition. In Ram Kishore Gupta v. Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi, Cri. Writ Petition No. 169/88 (decided on May 25, 1988) (1), while agreeing with the proposition of law laid by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in Hira Lal Somabhai Damania v. Dr. Gopal Singh & Ors. reported in 1988 (1) Crimes 857 (2), this Court held that such a petition seeking quashing of the detention order is maintainable. Contention No. I