(1.) The petitioner is the wife of Kantilal Jain who is detained by virtue of an order bearing No. S.P.L. 3(A)/PSA-0181/256 dated 6th January, 1982 passed by the Government in the purported exercise of its powers under section 3(1) of the COFEPOSA Act, 1974.
(2.) The circumstances which led to; the detention of Kantilal Jain are narrated in para 1(a) of the grounds of detention, which reads as follows :
(3.) The detention order was passed on the basis of the documents which are mentioned in the accompaniment to the order of detention. These documents included the confessional statement alleged to have been made by the detenu on 1-10-1981 and the statements made by his accomplice Bhikarawm and the taxi driver, in whose taxi the detenu and his companion Bhikaram were taken to the Customs Office and in whose presence the detenu and Bhikaram were interrogated. The documents also included the panchanamas under which contraband articles were attached and also the correspondence between the detenu and Bhikaram on the one hand and the Assistant Collector of Customs, R and I, Bombay on the other, in respect of the retraction of the confessional statements made by the detenu and Bhikaram after they were accosted by the Customs Officers. In para 1(b) of the grounds of detention the confessional statement of detenu Kantilal is incorporated, while in paras 1(c) and 1(d) the statements of Bhikaram and the taxi driver Ahmed Saheb are reproduced. Para 1(e) contains the inference drawn by the Detaining Authority on the basis of the narration in sub-paras (a) to (d) of para 1. The inference is as follows :