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2012 (12) TMI 861 - BOMBAY HIGH COURTPreventive detention – Smuggling of goods - Section 3(1) of Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA Act) - Smuggling of red sanders to Dubai - The red sanders recovered from the three containers - Seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 The detenu was served with the grounds of detention, which advert to the continual criminal activities of the detenu necessitating issuance of detention order, with a view to prevent him from indulging into smuggling activities in future Petitioner says and submits that the detaining authority has not formulated the grounds of detention at all - Detaining authority has merely replaced the names of detenu and co-detenues with words like "you" and "your" in the grounds of detention served on the detenu and co-detenues, implying that the grounds of detention have been formulated by the sponsoring authority and not by the detaining authority - The petitioner says and submits that the detention law, in the instant case, has been invoked against the detenu as he refused to bribe the concerned senior officers of the sponsoring authority Held that:- Following the decision in case of Rajesh Vashdev Adnani vs. State of Maharashtra (2005 (10) TMI 493 - SUPREME COURT) that similar cosmetic changes were noticed in the grounds of detention purportedly formulated by the Detaining Authority. The Detaining Authority has not made any amends to ensure that the grounds of detention, and more particularly, the basis on which the subjective satisfaction has been reached must be formulated by the Detaining Authority on his own and not by bodily lifting the contents of the proposal sent by the Sponsoring Authority by making cosmetic changes thereto. Such approach of the Detaining Authority has been repeatedly frowned upon by the Courts considering the fact that the exercise of power to detain a person without a trial on the basis of circumstances of suspicion is a very drastic order to be passed, which cannot be and ought not to be resorted to lightly. Direct the State Authorities to forthwith release the detenu. In favour of assessee
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