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2018 (6) TMI 206 - HC - CustomsBail Application - Evasion of duty - Detention of CHA - fraud involving the scrips - Section 3(1) of the COFEPOSA Act - the allegation against the Detenue is that he was engaged in utilizing the tampered, fictitious, non-existent licenses/scripts by hatching a scheme with Mr Vinod Kumar Pathror. He was alleged to have fraudulently entered wrong details in the Customs EDI System after illegally gaining access to the system. Held that:- It is not a simple case where the Detenue could have just hacked into the EDI System of Customs and tampered with the details the licenses, as is alleged. Unless the officers of the Customs Department were themselves involved, which angle is still under investigation, it is difficult to accept that the Detenue was the one who was involved in the racket of tampering with the licenses. Further, co-accused Mr Vinod Kumar Pathror is still said to be a PO. Absence of live link with the alleged tampering of the licenses - there does not appear to have been any prejudicial activity undertaken by the Detenue which has been referred to in the grounds of detention. The non-considering of vital facts which have a bearing on whether the Detenue should continue to be detained would vitiate the entire detention order. There is merit in the contention that the sponsoring authority erred in not referring to the various circulars issued by the Commissionerate which demonstrates how the verification of the genuineness of the scripts was to be done. Without the participation of various customs officers, it would have not been possible to hack the system and tamper with the details concerning the scripts/licenses. There being a two-layer verification process by means of a secret password allotted to the Superintendent, it would have been impossible for an individual to tamper with or hack into the system. The exact manner of tampering with the system has not been explained. Since no past antecedents of the Detenue have been pointed in the grounds of detention, there was no material to support the conclusion that the Detenue possesses the propensity or potentiality to indulge in smuggling activities in the future. The detention order is held to be bad in law and is hereby quashed - petition allowed.
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