AJIT PAL SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AJIT Pal Singh Sethi petitioner is confined in Central Jail, Patiala under the order dated June 1, 1992 Annexure P-1 passed by Joint Secretary to Government of India in exercise of the power conferred by Section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) based on grounds Annexure P-2. The petitioner has filed this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India assailing the order Annexure P-1 and praying for issuance of a writ in the nature of habeas corpus with a direction to the respondent to release him immediately.

(2.) THE brief resume of relevant facts, figuring in the grounds of detention is that on May 4, 1992 on receipt of specific information that a jeep bearing Registration No. PB-08-E/0992 would be transporting contraband gold the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence of Amritsar, with the help of BSF personnel intercepted the same alongwith tits two occupants i.e. the petitioner and one Daljit Singh. The jeep was escorted to D.R.I. Office at Amritsar and thorough checking of the same was conducted in the presence of two independent witnesses which resulted in detection of two ingeniously made cavities on both sides of the rear mud-guards of the jeep. On opening those two cavities 7 cloths vansalies were recovered which were found to contain in all 728 foreign marked gold biscuits of 10 tolas each all weighing 84.8 kgs. All the articles were seized alongwith the jeep. The recovered gold biscuits were checked by two gold smiths of Amritsar who made their joint report to the effect that gold was of 24 cts purity, and it valued at Rs. 3,65,001,64.

(3.) THE petitioner was examined in terms of Section 108 of the Customs Act wherein he admitted the recovery and seizure of 7.8 foreign marked gold biscuits. The petitioner also stated that these gold biscuits belonged to Amrik Singh a resident of village Havellian, District Amritsar and he was to hand over the jeep alongwith concealed gold to one of the carriers of Amrik Singh at Nakodar Chowk, Jalandhar city. He further admitted that he used to get Rs. 500/- per trip for transporting the smuggled goods and Rs. 500/- extra as travelling expenses. Earlier he had smuggled gold three times and for that job he had received Rs. 7500/-.