KADEEJA SIDDIQUE Vs. STATE OF KERALA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER is the wife of Sri M.V. Siddique who is detained in the Central Prison under the provisions of Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, for short The COFEPOSA Act, on his being found to have violated the provisions of the Customs Act in the matter of smuggling gold biscuits.

(2.) PRIOR to the passing of the order detaining Siddique in the Central Prison he was arrested and taken into custody by the police from his residence. The Petitioner thereupon made Ext. P -25 representation to the State Government with copy to the Central Government seeking revocation of the order of detention. The State Government by order, dated 9th May 1991 rejected the representation. Copy of the representation forwarded to the Central Government was rejected by Ext. P -27 order of the Central Government, dated 26th June 1991.

(3.) THE delay in disposing of the representation, the learned Counsel for the Petitioner argues, has resulted in miscarriage of justice. The order of detention for this reason alone, the counsel argues, must be held to be one passed in violation of Article 22(5) of the Constitution of India. The Additional Central Government Standing Counsel Mr. T.P.M. Ibrahim Khan on the other hand submitted that the delay in disposing of the representation cannot be said to be unreasonable so as to say that the detention order gets automatically invalidated. It is all the more so because the delay is properly explained is the further argument of the counsel.