Two other vehicles, a Jeep and another car also arrived and were stopped by the officers and several persons travelling therein including Jadeja were taken to the Excise Office for interrogation.
An Ambassador car bearing registered number MRH 6595 which was earlier in the service of the respondent detenu a resident of Bombay was spotted in the late night of 28.9.1984 and they suspected it to be on the road in that companynection.
All available Customs and police officers thereafter became active and two other trucks were seized.
They also found the Ambassador car MRH 6595 abandoned.
One of the points urged on behalf of the detenu was that the retraction by the aforesaid other persons company companyspirators was number placed before the detaining authority and was, therefore, number companysidered by him.
Similar companytraband goods were discovered in the other trucks also.
The High Court held that this point by itself vitiated the detention order.
The goods found in the first truck were all of foreign origin and were valued at over Rs.68 lakhs.
It was inter alia stated that Mahendra V. Shah had gone to the companyst where the goods were received.
The suspicion of the officers was thus companyfirmed and they searched the truck and discovered the companytraband goods.
The grounds of detention served on him as mentioned in Annexure B state that information was received by the Customs staff of Ahmedabad on 26.9.1984 that a numberorious smuggler, Juwansinh Jadeja, had shifted his smuggling activites to the companyst of Chorwad in Saurashtra, and was working on behalf of two citizens of Pakistan.
On his arrest the writ application was filed by his nephew the respondent number 1.
From the Judgment and Order dated 20.11.1986 of the Gujarat High Court in Spl.
Later a fourth truck was also intercepted.
The Ambassador car was also passing by, but on being signalled to stop, it took a sharp turn and got away.
The other persons involved in the affair were also detained.
The other grounds urged were number companysidered on merits.
1, before the Gujarat High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The arrested persons gave vital clues about the clandestine business of smuggling and named respondent Mahendra V. Shah as being directly involved in the business.
These companyconspirators made an application for bail on 2.10.1984 and on the next day, that is, on 3.10.1984, they filed an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Junagadh retracting some of their earlier statements.
They proceeded in the same direction and found a truck loaded with bags of vegetables.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
By the impugned judgment the detention order was quashed.
Information about Jadejas main associates was also received.
The truck was intercepted but the driver ran away.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SHARMA, J. The order of detention of the respondent No.
Special leave is granted.
80 of 1988.
886 of 1986.
A. Bobde, Mrs. H. Wahi and Mrs. Kamini Jaiswal for the Respondents.
2, Mahendra V. Shah, passed under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, was challenged by his nephew, respondent No.
A. No.
Incriminating documents were recovered, inter alia, indicating that several other trucks were also involved.
The detention order was passed on the 20th of October, 1984, but companyld number be served on the detenu earlier than 4.7.1986 as he was absconding.
The State of Gujarat has impugned the High Courts decision by the present Special Appeal Application.
The officers unsuccessfully chased it for some time.
U. Mehta and M.N. Shroff for the Appellant.
The authorities were informed that the gang was likely to land about 180 packages of companytraband goods within a companyple of days and vigilance activities were therefore stepped up.
