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PETITIONER: AHAMED MOHAIDEEN ZABBAR

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: STATE OF TAMIL NADU AND ORS.

DATE OF JUDGMENT:       28/04/1999

BENCH: G.T. NANAVATI, M SRINIVASAN, & N. SANTOSH HEGDE.

JUDGMENT:

NANAVATI, J. -----------

       This petition is filed under Article  32  of         the  Constitution  of India challenging the order of         detention passed by the Government of Tamil Nadu, on         23.11.98, under Section 3  of  the  Conservation  of         Foreign   Exchange  and  Preservation  of  Smuggling         Activities Act, 1974.  Pursuant  to  this  detention         order, the detenu was detained on 28.1.99.

               It  is  not  necessary to state the facts in         detail as this petition deserves to  be  allowed  on         the ground that there was undue delay in passing the         detention order.    The  order of detention has been         passed as the detenu was found to  be  smuggling  23         gold  biscuits  weighing  2679.5 grams into India on         8.12.97  itself  and  again  on  19.12.97  when  his         further statement  was  recorded.    The  contention         raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner  is         that  even  then,  the order of detention came to be         passed as late as on 23.11.98,  that  is,  after  11         months and 15 days.  It was further submitted by him         that  the  satisfaction  of  the detaining authority         regarding the need to immediately detain him with  a         view  to prevent him from continuing the prejudicial         activity was therefore  not  genuine.    He  further         submitted  that because of this defect, the order of         detention  stands   vitiated   and   the   continued         detention  of  the  detenu  should  be  declared  as         illegal.

               In  reply  to  this  contention,  the  State         Government  in  its counter has stated that the show         cause notice was issued  to  the  detenu  under  the         Customs   Act   on   4.5.98   and  the  adjudication         proceedings were  over  on  9.1.98.      The   State         Government,  therefore,  did  not  proceed  with the         proposal till then and  took  up  the  proposal  for         consideration only  thereafter.    The  order of the         Ministry of Law  in  that  behalf  was  obtained  on         2.11.98  and the grounds of detention were framed on         18.11.98 and the order of detention  was  passed  on         23.11.98.   No  other  explanation has been given by         the State Government for not passing  the  detention         order earlier.      The  State  Government  has  not

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       explained why it thought it necessary to  wait  till         the  adjudication  proceedings  before  thee customs         authorities were over since that was  not  necessary         for exercising the power under the COFEPOSA Act.  In         absence  of  any  satisfactory explanation as to why         the State Government  did  not  exercise  the  power         earlier, it has to be held that delay in passing the         order of  detention  was unreasonable.  It will also         have  to  be  held  that  the  explanation  of   the         detaining  authority  as  regards  immediate need of         detaining the detenue was not genuine.

               The  order  of  detention  therefore  stands         vitiated and is quashed hereby. The Writ Petition is         allowed  accordingly.  The  detenu  is  order  to be         released immediately, if not required to be kept  in         prison in some other case.