Arijit Banerjee, J. - (1.) The petitioner prays for quashing of a show cause notice dated 14 January, 1991 issued by the Special Director, Enforcement Directorate, Government of India on the ground of inordinate delay in proceeding with the adjudication arising out of the said show cause notice causing worry, anxiety, expenses and disturbance to his vocation and peace of mind. As stated in paragraph 3 of the writ petition, the petitioner has not gone into the merits or demerits of the show cause notice and has limited his challenge to the arbitrary conduct of the adjudication proceeding under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973 (in short "FERA").
(2.) Case of the Petitioner:- A show cause notice was issued against Girdharilal Mehta (since deceased) and against one S.C. Mehta under Section 50 of the FERA calling upon the noticees to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on them under the said Act for alleged contravention of Section 8 (1) of FERA read with Sections 64(2) and 51 thereof. There is no one by the name of S.C. Mehta in the petitioner's family. However, the notice was sent to the address of the petitioner who is S.G. Mehta. The petitioner reasonably assumed that S.C. Mehta was a misdescription of the petitioner.
(3.) Prior to issuance of the show cause notice, on January 15, 1990, the premises of Thomas Duff Company were searched under Section 37 of FERA and some documents were seized by the authorities. A further search was undertaken on January 18, 1990. The statements of G.L. Mehta and S.G. Mehta (writ petitioner) were recorded on February 12, 1990. The petitioner gave his reply to the show cause notice vide letter dated February 15, 1991.;