- (1.) Having remained unsuccessful in his challenge to the detention order passed in respect of petitioner No.1, he has yet again raised a challenge to the same detention order ( Annexure P-4) with a prayer to quash the same with post-facto effect. The reasons for petitioner No.1 to persist with his challenge to the preventive detention order passed against him are quite obvious and this is the order passed against him forfeiting his property as well as of his son (petitioner No.2). The petitioners accordingly have also prayed for quashing the order dated 31.1.2001, whereby their property was ordered to be forfeited consequent to the detention of the petitioners passed under Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA for short). The petitioners would also challenge the order passed by the Appellate Tribunal upholding the order passed by the authority to forfeit the property of the petitioners. The Tribunal has also directed Deputy Commissioner, Hoshiarpur to take possession of the forfeited property immediately. Incidentally, the petitioners are before this court with this challenge once the High Court of Delhi has declined to entertain the petition, which they have withdrawn.
(2.) The challenge in the petition is made in the light of following facts, which are noticed in brief:- Suram Singh and Deep Chand were caught while carrying Indian currency of Rs. 50.00 lacs in a Fiat Car No.PB-24-2300 on 12.9.1993. It is stated that this money was meant for delivery to Tarsem Singh of Urmar Tanda by Shri K.D.Kaushal, who were his counter-part. The said currency was seized under Section 102 Cr.P.C. and Suram Singh and Deep Chand were arrested. The petitioners would urge that this normal business transaction of a property dealer was given the colour of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (for short "FERA") violation and Enforcement Officers from the Directorate of Enforcement were immediately summoned. It is alleged that Suram Singh and Deep Chand were tortured at the police station and were made to state as dictated by these officials. They both, however, retracted their statements when they were remanded to judicial custody on 20.9.1993. While in police custody, they both had named petitioner No.1 stating that the money was meant to be delivered to him for onward distribution of the same to the Indian relatives of the NRIs. It also surfaced that the seized currency was collected from J.P.Gupta at New Delhi, who was working under the instructions of Prem Prakash and was meant for petitioner No.1.
(3.) Tarsem Singh of Urmar Tanda is stated to have approached Garshankar Police to claim this money and he was told that the same has been transferred to Enforcement Directorate, FERA, Jalandhar. He was accordingly summoned to appear before the Enforcement Directorate, but instead he filed a writ petition before this court on 8.7.1994. The same was admitted on 1.8.1995. It is accordingly urged that Tarsem Singh was relentlessly pursuing his claim for retrieving this seized currency. Tarsem Singh, however, apparently was caught well when Income Tax Officer, Hoshiarpur assessed him for tax on the seized currency. Tarsem Singh thereafter withdrew the writ petition filed before this court. Suram Singh, from whom the currency was seized, thus, remained the only petitioner in this regard before this court and his petition was tagged with income tax appeal filed by the Department. On this basis, it is urged that name of petitioner No.1 was maliciously and falsely introduced only on account of torture and tutored statements of Suram Singh and Deep Chand. On the basis of these allegations, respondent No.1 passed an order under Section 3 (1) of the COFAPOSA on 6.5.1994 for detaining petitioner No.1 in preventive detention. This order was duly served on petitioner No.1 on 25.5.1994 and he was accordingly detained at Central Jail, Patiala, where he remained for one year from 25.5.1994 to 24.5.1995. Detention order was also passed against Shri Munna Lal Khandelwal, who was allegedly generating money from Hawala transactions. Shri Rameshwar Dass, who was allegedly collecting money from Khandelwal and Prem Parkash, was stated to be his boss. It is pointed out that the orders of detention of Munna Lal Khandelwal, Rameshwar Dass, J.P.Gupta and Prem Parkash were quashed by Delhi High Court. The detention orders of Suram Singh and Deep Chand remained pending. It appears that Petitioner No.1 has also challenged his detention order before Delhi High Court, but his petition was dismissed, against which he filed a Special Leave Petition, which was also dismissed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 3.5.1993. Copy of this order is annexed as Annexure P-6 with this petition. As per the petitioners, detention orders passed in respect of Prem Parkash and J.P.Gupta, however, were quashed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court on 7.9.1996 and 20.11.1998.;