Judgment

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:- This appeal is by special leave. Appellant challenged his order of detention under S.3(1)(i) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA for short) by filing a writ petition before the High Court and that application has been dismissed. As many as six contentions had been advanced before the High Court. Though raised in the writ petition, the point relating to denial of a fair hearing before the Advisory Board has not been noticed by the High Court as a contention on behalf of the appellant, but counsel for the appellant has raised the same point before this Court and since the facts on which the ground is raised are not in dispute we find no objection to entertaining this contention now specifically raised in this appeal.

2. The hearing of the representation of the appellant by the Advisory Board was fixed for 25 th Nov. 1986. On that day the appellant had specifically requested the Advisory Board to permit one Mr. Sundararajan, a retired Assistant Collector of Central Excise to assist him as a friend. The Board, as appears from the counter affidavit filed in this Court, turned down the request. Th