Full Judgment Text
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CASE NO.:
Appeal (crl.) 793 of 1999
PETITIONER:
Vinod K. Chawla
RESPONDENT:
Union of India & Ors.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 18/08/2006
BENCH:
K.G. Balakrishnan & G.P. Mathur
JUDGMENT:
J U D G M E N T
G. P. MATHUR, J.
1. This appeal, by special leave, has been preferred against the
judgment and order dated 27.1.1999 of High Court of Delhi by which the
writ petition filed by the appellant challenging the detention order passed
against him on 12.2.1997 under Section 3(1) of Conservation of Foreign
Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (for short
’COFEPOSA’) by the Joint Secretary, Government of India, was
dismissed.
2. Though the detention order was passed on 12.2.1997 but the same
could be served upon the appellant after more than a year on 12.3.1998
when he was taken into custody as he was absconding. The appellant
filed the writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution soon
thereafter before the Delhi High Court which was dismissed on 27.1.1999.
The appellant has already undergone the entire period of detention but he
is pursuing the present appeal as he is threatened with proceedings under
Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property)
Act, 1976.
3. The grounds of detention mention that the Director of Revenue
Intelligence, New Delhi (for short ’DRI’) had received information that
the appellant was indulging in large scale evasion of customs duty by
importing consumer electronic goods at grossly under-invoiced prices and
by circumventing Import and Export Policy and remitting payments for
the same through illegal channels. The goods were imported through
various firms and concerns owned by the appellant. On the basis of the
said information, the officers of the DRI conducted simultaneous searches
on 20.12.1996 at seven residential/business/factory premises of the
appellant, wherein many incriminating articles and documents were
recovered. Further searches were also made on 30th December, 1996 and
some more goods of foreign origin were recovered which established
evasion of excise duty. His statement was recorded on 19th and 20th
December, 1996 and 30th January, 1997. On the basis of the material
collected, the Joint Secretary to the Government of India passed the
impugned order under Section 3(1) of COFEPOSA on 12.2.1997. The
appellant evaded service of the detention order and absconded. After
great efforts had been made and proceedings had been initiated under
Section 7 of COFEPOSA, the appellant was served with the copy of the
detention order on 12.3.1998 when he was taken into custody. The
representation made by the appellant was rejected by the detaining
authority and also by the Central Government after the Advisory Board
had recorded an opinion that there was sufficient cause for his detention.
The appellant challenged the detention order by filing the writ petition
before the High Court of Delhi raising several pleas but the same was
dismissed on 27.1.1999.
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4. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the grounds of
detention make reference to the statement made by the appellant’s son,
Asheesh Chawla before the officers of DRI on 7.1.1997 and 8.1.1997.
However, when he was produced before the ACMM, New Delhi, on
8.1.1997 he specifically retracted the statement allegedly made by him
before the officers of DRI. The said statement of Asheesh Chawla made
on 8.1.1997, whereby he specifically retracted from the statement made
before the officers of DRI, was not placed by sponsoring authority before
the detaining authority and, therefore, a vital document which could affect
the opinion of the detaining authority one way or the other was suppressed
and was not placed before him (detaining authority) and thus the detention
order passed against the appellant is illegal. In support of this submission
reliance is placed on Ashadevi v. K. Shivraj, Addl. Chief Secretary to the
Govt. of Gujarat (1979) 1 SCC 222, wherein it has been held as under :
"If material or vital facts which would influence the mind of the detaining
authority one way or the other on the question whether or not to make the
detention order are not placed before or are not considered by the
detaining authority, it would vitiate its subjective satisfaction rendering
the detention order illegal."
Reliance is also placed on Ayya v. State of U.P. (1989) 1 SCC 374,
wherein it was held :
"There would be vitiation of the detention on grounds of non-application
of mind if a piece of evidence, which was relevant though not binding,
had not been considered at all. If a piece of evidence which might
reasonably have affected the decision whether or not to pass an order of
detention is excluded from consideration, there would be a failure of
application of mind which, in turn, vitiates the detention. The detaining
authority might very well have come to the same conclusion after
considering the material; but in the facts of the case the omission to
consider the material assumes materiality."
Substantiating his argument learned counsel for the appellant has
also relied upon Sita Ram Somani v. State of Rajasthan (1986) 2 SCC 86,
wherein it was observed that it was for the detaining authority to consider
the relevant material before taking a decision whether it was necessary to
detain the appellant under COFEPOSA and that having not been done,
there was a clear non-application of mind by the detaining authority to
relevant material.
5. In order to examine the contention raised by learned counsel for the
appellant, it is necessary to refer to the detention order dated 12.2.1997
and the relevant part thereof which has a bearing on the controversy in
dispute, is being reproduced below :
"The Directorate of revenue Intelligence, D Block, I.P. Bhawan,
I.P. Estate, New Delhi received information that you i.e. named Mr.
Vinod Kumar Chawla, resident of E-526, Greater Kailash-II, New Delhi
were indulging in large scale evasion of Customs Duty by way of
importing consumer electronic goods at grossly under invoiced prices and
by way of circumventing Import and Export Policy and remitting payment
through illegal channels through your business of computer accessories,
connectors and cables. These goods are being imported through various
firms owned by you namely i) M/s Connectronics and Cables Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi ii) M/s Life Electronics Pvt. Ltd., Noida, iii) M/s WINGS
Electronics, Noida, iv) M/s MOBICON Enterprises, New Delhi.
Pursuant to the said information, the officers of the Directorate of
Revenue Intelligence conduced simultaneous searches on 10.12.1996 at
the residential/business/factory premises of the various firms owned by
you as detailed below :
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1. Business premises of M/s Connectronics and Cables Pvt. Ltd., G-3, Osian
Buildings, 12, Nehru Place, New Delhi.
2. Residential premises of Mr. J.C. Malhotra, Director of M/s Connectronics
and Cables Pvt. Ltd.
3. Business premises of M/s Wings Electronics and M/s Mobicon
Enterprises situated at 309, Lajpat Rai Market, Delhi \026 6.
4. Your residential premises situated at K-526, Greater Kailash-II, New
Delhi.
5. Factory premises of M/s Wings Electronics situated at A-62, Sector 16,
NOIDA, Distt. Ghaziabad (U.P.)
6. Factory premises of M/s Life Electronics Pvt. Ltd. situated at E-3, Sector
VIII, NOIDA, Distt. Ghaziabad (U.P.)
7. The godown of M/s Connectronics and Cables situated at 7-1/147,
Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi. The said premises is also the residential
premises of Mr. Puran Chand Joshi, Sales Assistant of M/s Connectronics
and Cables.
3. As a result of the searches, several incriminating documents were
recovered from the premises listed at Sr. No.1, 3 and 6 which are resumed
by the officers for further investigation. In the premises listed at Sr. No.7
above imported goods of foreign origin valued at Rs.14.83 lakhs were
recovered which were detained pending further enquiries as the
functionaries present could not produce any documents for lawful
importation and acquisition of the said goods. In a subsequent search
carried out on 11.12.97, at the premises listed at Sr. No.6, several goods
viz. speakers, cabinets, connectors and AT & T Cables, all the foreign
origin valued at Rs.35 lakhs approximately were also recovered from the
basement of the said premises. These were also detained pending further
enquiry, and were subsequently seized on 17.12.1996 under Section 110
of the Customs Act, 1962 as no person, including you could produce any
documents for legal import depicting their correct and true value.
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5. In your statement recorded on 19.12.96 under Section 108 of the
Customs Act, 1962 you inter alia stated that initially you started doing
business in purchase and sale of electronic components under a firm
named M/s WINGS Electronics, 309, Lajpat Rai Market, Delhi \026 6; that at
the same place you opened another firm, M/s LIFE Electronics (P) Ltd. in
1984-85 of which you were the Managing Director.
..................................................................................
....................................................... that in addition to this, you also h
ad a
trading centre in the name and style of M/s CONNECTRONICS AND
CABLES Pvt. Ltd. G-3, Osian Building, 12, Nehru Place, New Delhi
since 1991, in which you were dealing in stock and trade of connectors,
cables, switches, wires and other electronic components which were being
imported from Hongkong/Taiwan. Your son Asheesh Chawla, was the
Managing Director of this firm.
6. You further stated that you were importing components such as
plastic molded items, wires and cables, connectors, hardware switches etc.
through your firms and that this work of imports was being looked after
by you; that you yourself used to negotiate prices and finalize the orders
on behalf of M/s LIFE Electronics and M/s WINGS Electronics, Noida,
that you were looking after the business interest of M/s CONNECTORS
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AND CABLES including the imports, that their main overseas suppliers
were i) M/s Pearl Industrial Co., Hongkong. ii) M/s Mirtex Enterprises
(HK) Ltd., Taiwan and Hongkong, iii) M/s RAFS Enterprises, Singapore
iv) M/s Phillips, Holland. You further stated that before importing, you
used to ask for a proforma invoice from the foreign supplies for the items
to be imported, followed by a sales confirmation in certain cases in
writing; that for regular items you simply used to get a proforma invoice
and then place the order over phone.
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11. In view of the admissions made by you in various statements in
connection with the import of juice extractors VCRs and cables the
officers of the Directorate again visited the factory premises of M/s
WINGS Electronics on 30.12.1996 and conducted further search of the
said premises. As a result, 2460 pieces of car audio speaker "made in
Korea" and 254 nos. of Spectra Strap Planar Cables valued at Rs.20 lakhs
(approx) were recovered which were detained pending further enquiries
which were subsequently seized on 15.01.97 as no person including you
could produce the documents for legal importation and acquisition of the
said goods.................................................................................
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12. Further the officers of DRI scrutinized the documents which were
recovered from your various premises, as a result of searches conducted
on 10.12.96. Scrutiny of records resumed from the business premises of
M/s CONNECTRONICS AND CABLES Pvt. Ltd. revealed gross under
valuation of the items viz. connectors imported by the company from
Taiwan. It was found that all the goods imported by the said company
since 1994 were supplied by a single supplier, namely, M/s MIRTEX
ENTERPRISES (HK) LTD., Taiwan. Investigations revealed that this
was a branch office with the main office at Hongkong.
13. On correlating the price of the items shown in the invoices of M/s
MIRTEX which were declared to customs for duty purposes, with their
quotation/proforma invoice, it was observed that the goods were under
valued to the extent of approx 1/5th of the actual quoted price. From the
respective bills of entry 9, in number regarding which the exercise of
correlation has been carried out so far it was found that the firm had
evaded customs duty to the tune of Rs.25 lakhs approx by way of such
under invoicing.
14. Mr. Asheesh Chawla, your son and Managing Director of the said
firm, was summoned on 07.01.97 to tender his statement. In his written
statement, he stated that for the last one year he had been placing orders
with M/s MIRTEX though previously you had been placing the orders;
that the method of placing the orders is that the firm first calls for
quotations from manufacturers and suppliers in Taiwan, and on the basis
of these quotations they place the order with MIRTEX Enterprises,
Taiwan on fax.
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28. Thus, from the statements of various persons, including yours, from
the investigations conducted by the Directorate so far, the scrutiny of the
documents recovered, it is clear that you are involved in the following
offences :
(i) Large scale evasion of customs duty to the tune of over
Rs.1.35 crores in the import of connectors, cables and other electronic
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items, through massive under valuation of the goods.
(ii) Remitting the differential amount to foreign suppliers
through illegal channels, seized document show that you have remitted
US$ 2,92,256.62 equivalent to Rs.85 lakhs approximately during the
period June, 1995 to September, 1996 through illegal channels.
(iii) Importing various cables through his firm M/s WINGS
Electronics and showing the same as being used in the manufacture and
assembly of various consumer electronic goods such as car cassette
players, music systems etc. taking MODVAT credit on the same, but
diverting these cables for sale through your trading establishment M/s
CONNECTRONICS AND CABLES thus flouting rules relating to
MODVAT in the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944.
(iv) Importing ready to assembly kits in SKD condition
890 VCR’s and 1560 juicers by deliberately splitting the consignment
showing the import under OGL and showing part of the consignment as
having been imported by a third party whereas import of consumer
electronics goods in SKD form requires special import licence."
6. The statement of Asheesh Chawla made in the Court of ACMM,
New Delhi on 8.1.1997 which, according to the appellant amounts to
retraction of the statement made by him (Asheesh Chawla) before the
officers of DRI, is being reproduced below :-
"I have been in the custody of the Officers of the department since 2.30
p.m. on 7.1.97. The Officers have made me write false and incorrect
statements on their dictation and sign several documents under threat and
coercion and after being given a beating. I have been maltreated and
subjected to deep humiliation. I have not been provided anything to eat
for the last one day. I was not permitted to sleep or drink any water.
Sd/-
( Ashish Chawla )
8.1.97"
7. The grounds of detention are very detailed and long and run into 35
paragraphs and several pages. They refer to the documents recovered
from business premises of M/s Connectronics and Cables Pvt. Ltd., M/s
Wings Electronics and M/s Mobicon and factory premises of M/s Life
Electronics Pvt. Ltd. situate in Noida and also the godown of M/s
Connectronics and Cables Pvt. Ltd. at Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi.
They extensively refer to the statement of the appellant recorded on
19.12.1996 wherein he admitted that he was doing business through two
firms owned by him, viz., M/s Wings Electronics and M/s Life
Electronics Pvt. Ltd. and that he had started trading centre in the name
and style of M/s Connectronics and Cables Pvt. Ltd. and also the fact that
his son Asheesh Chawla was the Managing Director of this firm. The
detention order refers to the several other statements of the appellant
himself which were recorded on different dates and the admissions made
by him. The statement of Asheesh Chawla, who is the son of the
appellant, has been referred to in para 14 of the detention order, wherein it
is mentioned that in his written statement he stated that for the last one
year he had been placing orders with M/s MIRTEX though previously the
appellant had been placing the orders. In para 15 of the detention order it
is stated that Asheesh Chawla was shown several invoices and
corresponding quotations/proforma invoices wherein difference in prices
was evident in each and every case to which he agreed, but could not
explain the difference. A reading of the whole of the detention order
clearly shows that the detaining authority had placed reliance entirely
upon the statement of the appellant Vinod K. Chawla himself and the
documents and material recovered from the business premises and
godowns of the firms which were admittedly owned by the appellant.
There was only a passing reference to the statement of Asheesh Chawla,
wherein he had stated that for the last one year he had been placing orders
with M/s MIRTEX though previously the orders had been placed by the
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appellant. The detention order is not at all based upon the statement of
Asheesh Chawla nor any real support is taken by the detaining authority
from his statement in order to come to the conclusion that the appellant
was the owner of the firms which placed orders for import of various
items and invoices whereof were deliberately grossly undervalued in
order to evade customs duty and huge sum of money was remitted
through illegal channels. Another fact which deserves notice is that
Asheesh Chawla had merely stated that orders with M/s MIRTEX used to
be placed by the appellant till one year earlier to the recording of his
statement. It is important to note that the alleged retraction of statement
has not been made by the appellant but by his son Asheesh Chawla. As
mentioned earlier, the detention order is not based upon the statement of
Asheesh Chawla but merely makes a passing reference to the same. Had
the appellant retracted from his statement and the said retraction had not
been placed before the detaining authority, the position may have been
different as in such a case it could be urged that the formation of opinion
by the detaining authority and his subjective satisfaction in that regard had
been affected. But such is not the case here. The retraction of the
statement by Asheesh Chawla has no bearing at all as it in no way could
affect the formation of opinion and the subjective satisfaction of the
detaining authority. Therefore, the contention raised by the learned
counsel for the appellant has no substance and is liable to be rejected.
8. We would like to clarify here that the law does not require that
every document or material in possession of sponsoring authority must
necessarily be placed by him before the detaining authority and in every
case where any such document or material is not placed by the sponsoring
authority before the detaining authority, the formation of opinion and the
subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority would get vitiated. This
view has been taken in several decisions of this Court. In Abdul Sathar
Ibrahim Manik v. Union of India & Ors. AIR 1991 SC 2261, it was held
as under :
"If the detenu has moved for bail then the application and the order
thereon refusing bail even if not placed before the detaining authority it
does not amount to suppression of relevant material. The question of non-
application of mind and satisfaction being impaired does not arise as long
as the detaining authority was aware of the fact that the detenu was in
actual custody."
In K. Varadharaj v. State of T.N. & Anr. (2002) 6 SCC 735, the
detenu was arrested for indulging in the trade of bootlegging. He was
granted bail in the said case by the Court of Principal District and
Sessions Judge on 19.10.2001. Subsequently, a detention order was made
under Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers,
Drug Offenders, Forest Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders
and Slum Grabbers Act, 1982 on 8.11.2001. The detaining authority did
not have before him the application for grant of bail nor the order passed
by the learned Sessions Judge granting bail. On the contrary, the
detaining authority took into consideration a remand order made by the
Court to note the fact that the appellant was in custody. The detenu
challenged the detention order on the ground that the subjective
satisfaction of the detaining authority was vitiated by the fact that the
relevant document ought to have been considered by the detaining
authority before coming to the conclusion that the appellant should be
detained, viz., his application for bail as well as the order of Sessions
Judge made thereon were not placed before the detaining authority. This
Court after referring to M. Ahamedkutty v. Union of India (1990) 2 SCC
1 and Abdul Sathar Ibrahim Manik v. Union of India & Ors. 1992 (1)
SCC 1 observed that placing of the application for bail and the order made
thereon are not always mandatory and such requirement would depend
upon the facts of each case and ultimately rejected the contention raised
by the detenu in this regard. This view has been reiterated in a recent
decision of this Court in Sunila Jain v. Union of India & Anr. 2006 (3)
SCC 321. We are, therefore, clearly of the opinion that the mere fact that
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the sponsoring authority did not place the statement made by Asheesh
Chawla on 8.1.1997 in the Court of ACMM, New Delhi, before the
detaining authority, cannot lead to an inference that the formation of
opinion and the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority was
vitiated in any manner.
9. Learned counsel for the appellant has next submitted that the
appellant had made a representation against his detention on 24.3.1998,
which was rejected by the detaining authority on 21.4.1998 and by the
Central Government on 29.4.1998 and in view of this inordinate delay in
the disposal of the representation, the continued detention of the appellant
was rendered illegal. Some decisions of this Court were cited where
emphasis has been laid on expeditious disposal of the representation made
by the detenu and it was also observed that unexplained delay in disposal
of the representation renders the continued detention illegal.
10. The contention raised cannot be judged by any straight jacket
formula divorced from facts. This has to be examined with reference to
the facts of each case having regard to the volume and contents of the
grounds of detention, the documents supplied along with the grounds, the
inquiry to be made by the officers of different departments, the nature of
the inquiry, the time required for examining the various pleas raised, the
time required in recording the comments by the authorities of the
department concerned, and so on.
11. In L.M.S. Ummu Saleema v. B.B. Gujaral & Anr. AIR 1981 SC
1191 it was held that there can be no doubt that the representation made
by the detenu has to be considered by the detaining authority with the
utmost expedition but as observed in Francis Coralie Mullin v. W.C.
Khambra AIR 1980 SC 849, "The time imperative can never be absolute
or obsessive." In Madan Lal Anand v. Union of India & Ors. AIR 1990
SC 176, the representation dated 17.1.1989 of the detenu who was
detained under COFEPOSA was rejected after more than a month on
20.2.1989. After referring to L.M.S. Ummu Saleema (supra) it was held
that the detaining authority had explained the delay in disposal of the
representation and accordingly the order of detention cannot be faulted on
that ground. In Kamarunnissa v. Union of India & Anr. AIR 1991 SC
1640, the representation made by the detenu on 18.12.1989 was rejected
on 30.1.1990 and it was contended that there was inordinate delay in
consideration of the representation. In the explanation given in the
counter affidavit filed in reply, it was submitted that considerable period
of time was taken by the sponsoring authority in forwarding its comments.
It was contended on behalf of the detenu that the views of the sponsoring
authority were totally unnecessary and the time taken by that authority
could not be taken into consideration. The contention was repelled by this
Court and it was observed that consulting the authority which initiated the
proposal can never be said to be an unwarranted exercise. It was further
emphasized that whether the delay in considering the representation has
been properly explained or not would depend upon the facts of each case
and cannot be judged in vacuum. Similarly, in Birendra Kumar Rai v.
Union of India & Ors. AIR 1993 SC 962, the petitioner made a
representation against his detention on 22.12.1990 which was rejected by
the Central Government after a month on 25.1.1991. It was observed that
the explanation offered for the delay in consideration of the representation
was not such from which an inference of inaction or callousness on the
part of the authorities could be inferred and accordingly the challenge on
the ground of delay was rejected. The subsequent decisions of this Court
are also on the same lines and we do not consider it necessary to refer to
them as the principle is well settled that there should be no inaction or
lethargy in consideration of the representation and where there is a proper
explanation for the time taken in disposal of representation even though it
may be long, the continued detention of the detenu would not be rendered
illegal in any manner.
12. The grounds of detention in the present case are a long one running
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into 35 paragraphs which were accompanied by 82 documents running
into 447 pages. The representation made by the appellant was also a
fairly long one. The representation made by the appellant on 24.3.1998
was received in the Ministry on 27.3.1998. The comments of the
sponsoring authority were called on 30.3.1998 which were received on
17.4.1998. The comments were placed before the Secretary (R) through
the A.D.G. on 22.4.1998 (18th and 19th being holidays). The decision of
the Central Government was taken and communicated on 29.4.1998 (25th
and 26th being holidays). The representation was also considered by the
detaining authority in the meantime and was rejected on 21.4.1998. In
the additional affidavit filed on behalf of the sponsoring authority before
the High Court, it was stated that the representation was received by them
on 2.4.1998 and the comments were dispatched on 17.4.1998. During this
period, there were holidays on 4th, 5th, 8th to 12th April, and only seven
working days were available. Again there were holidays on 18th, 19th, 25th
and 26th April. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case,
we are clearly of the opinion that the entire time taken in consideration
and disposal of the representation made by the appellant has been fully
explained and it cannot be said by any stretch of imagination that there
was any inordinate delay or unexplained delay in considering the
representation made by the appellant. The challenge to the detention
order made on the ground of delay in consideration of the representation
made by the appellant has no substance and deserves to be rejected.
13. It was lastly urged that the searches of the premises of the appellant
were conducted on 20.12.1996 and 30.12.1996 and his statement was also
recorded between 19.12.1996 and 30.1.1997, but he was taken into
custody after more than a year on 12.3.1998 and on account of this long
delay the live and proximate link in the alleged activities of the appellant
and the date of his actual detention was snapped and there was no
reasonable cause for detaining the appellant. The argument raised is
wholly misconceived. The detention order was passed on 12.2.1997 soon
after searches were conducted and his statement had been recorded but as
the appellant was evading arrest and was absconding, it could only be
served on 12.3.1998 when he was taken into custody. In the counter
affidavit filed in the High Court on behalf of the respondents it was
averred that continuous efforts were made both by the police authorities
as well as the officers of DRI to arrest the appellant. A notice under
Section 7(1)(b) of COFEPOSA was published in Official Gazette on
23.3.1997 and also in leading English and Hindi newspapers on
4.10.1997. An application under Section 7(1)(a) of the Act was also
moved before the Court of ACMM for initiating proceedings under
Section 82 and 83 Cr.P.C. where proclamation was made on 3.12.1997 to
appear on 9.1.1998. An order of attachment under Section 83 Cr.P.C.
was also issued which was brought to the notice of his family members
and only then the appellant could be apprehended and detained on
12.3.1998. Reference has also been made to three letters dated 28.2.1997,
17.7.1997 and 5.9.1997 from the Police Headquarters regarding the
efforts made to serve the detenu and copies of those letters were placed on
record. Every time the family members of the appellant reported before
the police that the appellant had left the house on 12.3.1997 to an
unknown place and that his whereabouts were not known. An additional
affidavit of Assistant Director of Revenue Intelligence was also filed
before the High Court wherein it was averred that 11 summons were
issued to the appellant during 20.2.1997 and 26.11.1997 and a red alert
was also issued by the DRI on 5.3.1997. These facts conclusively
establish that the detention order which was passed on 12.2.1997 soon
after the searches had been made and the statement of the appellant had
been recorded, could not be served in spite of every possible attempt had
been made to serve him as the appellant was absconding. Where a person
himself evades service of detention order, it is not open to him to contend
that in view of the long period which has elapsed between the offending
activities and the actual arrest and detention, the vital link had snapped
and there was no ground for actually detaining him. An otherwise valid
detention order cannot be rendered invalid on account of the own act of
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the detenu of evading arrest and making himself scarce. The contention
thus raised has absolutely no merit and has to be rejected.
14. In view of the discussions made, we are in complete agreement
with the view taken by the High Court. The appeal being wholly devoid
of merit, is hereby dismissed.