P. K. BAHRI, J. - (1.)The petitioner, who has been detained under section 3(1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (for shore 'COFE- POSA Act') vide order dated May 23, 1988. passed by respondent No. 2 with a view to prevent him from engaging in transporting smuggled golds, has filed the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking quashment of the said order.
(2.)Facts leading to the passing of the order, in brief, are that the Directorate of Intelligence' Officers at Calcutta collected some secret information that one Gopal Banik of Calcutta would be receiving smuggled gold on March 26, 1988, at 4 P.M. near Manichktalla Crossing on Acharyya Prafulla Chandra Road, Calcutta and thus, a raiding party was organised and the petitioner and Gopal Banik were apprehended while the petitioner had passed on packet containing three pieces of gold bars of foreign origin weighing 10 tolas each, to Gopal Bank. After recording the statement of the petitioner under Section. 108 of the Customs Act, 1962, the sponsoring authority put up the case for passing, the detention order. 315
(3.)One of the grounds taken in the petition is that the petitioner had made representation to the detaining authority and also to the Central Government against the detention order but the same has not been dealt with expeditiously and that till the filing of the petition no order has been communicated to the detenu regarding the fate of the representations.