Ibrahim Abbas at Anna International Air Port, Chennai as they were about to board a flight to Singapore.
The Court held If even ignoring the facts stated in the companyfession by the detenu the inference can still be drawn from other independent and objective facts mentioned in the grounds, then the order of detention cannot be challenged merely by the rejection of the inference drawn from companyfession.
The challenge is based on number of grounds though learned companynsel for the petitioner companyfined his submissions mainly on one ground which we shall be referring later.
This statement implicated the petitioner which describes how he has companycealed the foreign currencies in chappals and companydoms and attempted to send the same out of India through the aforesaid Prabhakaran and Mohd.
Non placement of any of such relevant document vitiates the detention order.
the search and seizure in detenus room and recovery of gold biscuits, the detenus failure to explain the importation of those gold biscuits, the secretive manner in which the gold biscuits were kept, the companynection with various dealers and the statements of the employees of the dealers that the detenus used to companye with gold bars etc.
On 26th November, 1999 detenu was summoned to appear before the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence where his statement was recorded.
On 7th November, 1999 one Saravanan was apprehended and his statement was recorded.
During the period of remand on 23rd December, 1999 the aforesaid impugned detention order was passed against the petitioner.
The short facts are, the Customs Officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on the 2nd June, 1999 intercepted two passengers by name N. Prabhakaran and Mohd.
Ibrahim Abbas.
There were two other persons belonging to Colombo and Singapore who have decided to export foreign currencies illegally out of India.
In the present case the authorities came to the companyclusion that the detenus were engaged in smuggling relying on several factors viz.,
On a search of both the persons foreign currencies and travelling cheques of large amount were recovered from both of them.
MISRA, J. The petitioner detenu challenges the detention order dated 23rd December, 1999 passed by the State of Tamil Nadu under Section 3 1 i and ii of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 in short COFEPOSA .
