In Brief
A detenu challenged a detention order under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 after he was apprehended for smuggling gold and foreign currencies. He claimed the authorities failed to properly serve him with grounds of detention or inform him of his right to make a representation. The Supreme Court held that the detention order was valid. Although the detenu formally refused to receive the grounds, he actually read them and signed the panchnama in English, proving his language proficiency. The authorities had properly translated documents into Bengali, made repeated service attempts starting the next day after detention, and the grounds themselves stated his right to representation. The Court found the detenu deliberately suppressed facts and approached the court with unclean hands, and therefore dismissed the appeal.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.