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1980 (9) TMI 270 - SC - FEMAWhether there was any breach of the requirements of Article 22 clause (5) of the Constitution and Section 3, sub-section (3) of the COFEPOSA Act, for that is the breach which is claimed by the petitioner as invalidating the continued detention of the detenue? Held that:- The time of 12 days taken up by the Assistant Collector of Customs was therefore unreasonably long for which no explanation at all was forthcoming from the detaining authority. We must in the circumstances hold that there was unreasonable delay on the part of the detaining authority in supplying to the detenu copies of the documents, statements and other materials relied upon in the grounds of detention and the continued detention of the detenu was accordingly illegal and void and the detenu was entitled to be released forthwith from detention. It is also necessary to point out that there was unreasonable delay in considering the representations of the detenu dated 9th June 1980 and 26th June 1980. It was not necessary for the detaining authority to wait until after the copies of the tapes were supplied to the detenu, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the detaining authority was guilty of unreasonable delay in considering the two representations of the detenu, and particularly the representation dated 9th June 1980. This ground is also in our opinion sufficient to invalidate the continued detention of the detenu. These were the reasons for which we allowed the writ petition and directed immediate release of the detenu from detention.
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