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2014 (3) TMI 210 - HC - FEMAForfeiture of property - Joint ownership being wives - scope of the term relative and the illegally acquired property - validity notice issued u/s 6(1) of the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property ) Act 1976 (SAFEMA) - principles of natural justice - validity of composite orders - Proceeding under COFEPOSA - Held that:- or issuing notice under Section 6(1), the competent authority need not come to a conclusion that the properties under the said notice are illegally acquired properties. Such conclusion is warranted only after hearing the person to whom Section 6(1) notice is issued. But what is necessary is that the competent authority must have reason to believe that all or any of such properties are illegally acquired properties, for the purpose of issuing notice under Section 6(1). If the competent authority has reasons to believe that the properties under dispute were acquired out of illegal sources of income such satisfaction is enough to call upon the concerned person to show cause. Insufficiency of the reasons recorded is different from no reasons recorded. Whether reasons stated in the notice would satisfy the requirement is the question not for this Court to go into it, as the same is the subjective satisfaction of the competent authority. The notice issued under Section 6(1) is in accordance with law and does not vitiate the proceedings. - Decided against the petitioners. Principle of natural justice - Held that:- Apex Court has found that non-supply of documents relied on by the respondent therein will not amount to violation of principles of natural justice, where there is substantial compliance of natural justice and no prejudice is caused on account of non-supply. It is found by the competent authority that wives have no independent sources of income and they have acquired the properties only through the illegal income derived by the husband/detenu. By perusing the passports filed by the husband, the competent authority has come to the conclusion that during the relevant period the detenu was not employed in Dubai but he was available only in India and that the remittances during that period have been made not from his own earnings made at Dubai. Thus, in the absence of any other materials placed before the competent authority, he has rightly come to the conclusion that those remittances were made not through the legal source of income derived by the detenu. The petitioners have miserably failed to discharge their burden to disprove the said contention as required under Section 8 of the said Act. - Decided against the petitioners - all petitions dismissed.
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