NAZIR AHMED ABDUL HAMID Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD both the learned Counsel; Ms. Mane for the petitioner and Mr. Bagwe, Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondents.

(2.) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for a writ of Habeas Corpus seeking to challenge the order of preventive detention passed on 11th November, 1996 (Annexure A page 18) against the petitioner-detenu. The said order has been passed by the 2nd respondent-detaining authority- namely, Principal Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, Home Department (Preventive Detention) in exercise of his powers under section 3 (1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (for short "cofeposa Act" ). The Order of Detention has been passed on recording the satisfaction with respect to the detenu that with a view to preventing him in future from smuggling goods, it was necessary to detain him in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the COFEPOSA Act. Along with the Order of Detention, the Grounds of Detention dated 11th November, 1996 (Annexure B page 20) were also served on the detenu on 19th February, 1997. Few facts necessary to appreciate the contentions raised before us may be briefly stated.

(3.) ON the 3rd of December, 1995, a ship- M. V. Susak-arrived at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (for short "jnpt") Nhava-Sheva, New Bombay from Dubai. Amongst the cargo, it carried container IPEL-200057-7 in its voyage 79 of 95 under Bill of Lading No. N. H. A. /4839 dated 27th December, 1995 consigned from Dubai in the name of M/s. Fatima International, C-32, Abhinandan 306, L. B. S. Marg, Kurla (West), Bombay 400 070. However, when the said container was unloaded at the J. N. P. T. , the Customs authorities found that nobody had come to claim it. The container was, therefore, lying in the customs area of the J. N. P. T. without payment of customs duty. It appears that a conspiracy was entered into between as many as 13 persons including the present detenu Nazir Ahmed Abdul Hamid Tungekar, for smuggling 1,12,267 Russian made ball-bearings and 4770 kgs. of heavy metal scrap, totally valued at Rs. 11,61,145 F. O. B. which at the prevailing market value was worth Rs. 82,89,622/ -. Under the guise that the container contained only heavy metal scrap, 1,12,267 Russian made ball-bearings were smuggled into the country from Dubai. The names of the 13 conspirators mentioned in para 3 of the Grounds of Detention are as under :