MANINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, who has been detained under section 3 (1) (i) of the Conservation of Foreign exchange and Prevention of Smuggling activities Act, 1974 (in short 'cofeposa'), has filed this Habeas Corpus Petition, challenging the order of detention clamped on him by the first respondent.

(2.) IT is alleged that on a specific intelligence that poppy seeds (khas khas) were smuggled into India in the name of M/s. Venkateswara Impex, a proprietary firm situated at Shop No. 11, 2nd Floor, Maharani building, No. 280/4, Anna Salai, puducherry, the proprietor of which is mr. Vardharam Mejlaji Dewaji, and the petitioner/detenu is the key person behind the said smuggling, the officials of the department of Revenue Intelligence (in short 'dri')initiated investigation and visited the said premises of M/s. Venkateswara Impex on 30. 1. 2008 and found it to be locked and therefore, they have sealed the said premises under a mahazar on the same day. Thereafter, the officials of the DRI were keeping a watch for imports made in the name of m/s. Venkateswara Impex and they have detained a consignment declared as 'mong whole' (green gram) vide container Nos. BLPU 2583929, BLPU 066177-7, CAXU 233404-2, blpu 359173-5 and BLUP 38261-2, vide switch Bill of Landing No. SBLSINO2145, dated 15. 1. 2008. It is alleged that according to the documents relating to the said switch bill of lading, the consignor of the goods was M/s. Jayakant J. Shah Co. Pvt. Ltd. , 186, High Street, Singapore; that the bill of lading and the manifest indicated the declared cargo as 'mong Whole'; that the containers were examined on 8. 2. 2008 and were found to contain white poly sack bags of mong whole sacked in front three rows in all the containers and white poly sack bags containing poppy seeds stacked in the remaining rear portion of the container, and in this way, 53 Metric Tons of poppy seeds were concealed, the value of which is estimated at Rs. 1. 13 crores and therefore, the sleuths of DRI seized the said 53 MTs of poppy seeds and 48. 4 MTs of Moong whole' under a mahazar dated 8. 2. 2008 under the customs Act, 1962 and the total value of the seized goods is estimated at Rs. 1. 25 crores.

(3.) IT has further been alleged that none of the above said containers have touched singapore on their voyage from Karachi to chennai, even though the Switch Bills of lading show the port of loading as Singapore and the containers have traversed in the mother vessels from Karachi to Colombo and thereafter transshipped from Colombo to chennai on feeder vessels; that poppy seeds can be imported only under a license from narcotics Commissioner, Gwalior and it was a restricted item and that the poppy seeds were not declared in the bill of lading and import manifest and require license to import into India, which was a restricted item and was dutiable under the Customs Tariff act; that the petitioner/detenu used to import spices like poppy seeds, cardamom, kala zeera etc. from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Singapore and is having a godown at chennai and that on his instructions, the imported goods were delivered at his godown at Thiruvottiyur Express Highways, Ennore, chennai, instead of taking them to pondicherry, since there was no godown for him at Puducherry; that on 31. 1. 2008, the officers of DRI, Chennai, searched the residence of the petitioner at No. AK55, Flat no. 4b, 4th Floor, Juniper Apartments, 10th main Road, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, west, Chennai-40 in the presence of independent witnesses and in the presence of his wife and son and during the said search, the officers have recovered a polythene cover containing poppy seeds weighing about 500 gms, from one of the dust bins, one Lenovo laptop and certain documents in 28 pages and seized the same under a cover of mahazar.