SURESH VADILAL VYAS Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the learned Counsel.

(2.) THIS is a petition by Suresh Vadilal Vyas, who is an employee of the detenu Suresh Dhansiram Agarwal. By Order dated November 20, 1995 issued by Shri K. L. Verma, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, who was specially empowered under section 3 (1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (for short, COFEPOSA Act), the detenu has been detained under section 3 (1) of the COFEPOSA Act with a view to preventing him from smuggling goods in future. The period of detention is one year. The order of detention alongwith the grounds was served on the detenu on 17-2-1996.

(3.) IT appears that the officers of the Marine and Preventive Wing of the Customs Preventive Commissionerate, Mumbai, received some information regarding export of textile fabrics wherein large-scale fraud and misuse of the Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate (D. E. E. C.) Scheme was being committed by mis-declaring the blend/composition of polyester fabrics and inflating the weight of the consignments and fabricating documents to show much higher exports without actually having made the said exports. This was done with a view to availing inflated entitlement of duty-free import of polyester filament yarn. The licences obtained for inflated entitlment of duty-free import of polyester filament yarn were being sold in open market at a premium after obtaining facility and transferability of such licences on the basis of a fraudulent claim of having fulfilled the export obligation of a much higher value than what was actually done.