MARIAMMA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) 280 silver bricks worth Rs. 7.37 crores-odd weighing 9,332.418 Kgs. were recovered by the Customs Authorities and three persons have been detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (hereinafter called the COFEPOSA Act). In O.P. No. 41060f 1993, the petitioner is the mother of one of the detenus, M.L. Kunjumon, while the detenus in the other two Writ Petitions, O.P. Nos. 5748 and 5750 of 1993 are respectively Showkath Ali and Mohammed Ali. Points arising in the three cases are common, but it will be convenient to deal with OP 4106 of 1993 separately in one part and the other two OPs separately in the other part.

(2.) In O.P. No. 4106 of 1993, the detenu, Kunjumon, is the owner of the house, which was hired by the persons who brought the contraband silver from abroad and the same was loaded into trucks at his residence.

(3.) In this O.P. No. 4106 of 1993, the detenu, Kun jumon, has been detained under the detention order Ext. P-1 dated 26.11.1992 issued by the second respondent (Joint Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Secretariat, New Delhi). When detention order was issued, the detenu, Kunjumon, was in prison, having been arrested in violation of the provisions of the Customs Act earlier, and bail having been refused. The grounds of detention, Ext. P-2, was served on 30.11.1992 on the detenu. A reference was made to the Advisory Board at New Delhi on 16.12.1992. The detenu made a representation, Ext. P-3, on 2.1.1993 to the second respondent stating that certain documents given to him along with the grounds of detention were illegible, and raising various other grounds. The representation was forwarded to the Advisory Board at New Delhi on 18.1.1993. The Advisory Board met on 5.2.1993. The rejection order, Ext. P-4, passed by the Union of India, was received on 9.2.1993 by the detenu. An order of confirmation was passed under Section 8(f) of the COFEPOSA Act on 26.2.1993 as per Ext. P-5. The present Writ Petition was filed by the mother of the detenu, Kunjumon, on 23.3.1993 for issue of a writ of habeas corpus.