HC quashes IB officer’s detention

The Delhi high court has quashed the detention of an IB officer in connection with a case of gold smuggling at Goa Airport in 2014, and ordered his release, citing “unexplained delay” in the execution of the order for detention.

A Bench of Justices GS Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal in its June 2 judgement set aside the March 2015 detention order issued by the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Unit on the ground that there was “unexplained delay” in the execution of the order.

The officer was detained in December 2015, nine months after the order was issued, and that too, when he had surrendered before the Goa Police, despite the fact that he was working in the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) at Bhubaneshwar, the court noted in its decision.

“Thus, in our view, the order of detention is liable to be quashed as there is unexplained delay in execution of the impugned detention order,” the Bench said. Another reason cited by the Bench for quashing the decision was that the officer was not supplied with the “relevant mechanism” to view the material considered by the authority prior to issuing the detention order. 

The order came on the petition filed by the wife of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer, seeking quashing of the detention order. The officer had initially joined the Indian Navy in July 1993 and had retired in 2008. Thereafter, he had joined the IB and was posted at the Goa Airport. In July, 2014, when he was on duty as wing in-charge in the Immigration Department, four persons were arrested on the allegation of smuggling of 19.4 kg of gold. On August 2, 2014, he was summoned for an inquiry with regard to the incident and had denied any knowledge of the case.