Judgment

M.K.MUKHERJEE, J.

(1) SPECIAL leave granted.

(2) THIS appeal is directed against the order dated 1/10/1990 passed by the Bombay High court in Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 1083 of 1990.

(3) ON 23/8/1990, the secretary (Preventive Detention) to the government of Maharashtra, Respondent 1 herein, made an order under Section 3(1 of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (COFEPOSA for short) to detain the appellant with a view to preventing him from smuggling goods. On getting information about the making of the order the appellant filed a writ petition in the Bombay High court challenging the same and having failed there moved this court by filing the special leave petition. To the petition the appellant has annexed, amongst other documents, purported copies of the order of detention and the grounds on which it is based though it is not quite clear how he came by them. The respondents, however, contend that the appellant obtained those copies clandestinely for they were to be served upon him only on detention. However, this aspect of the matter need not detain us as the respondents have not assailed