Jamdar, J.-The petitioner is brother in-law of one Raymond William Correia @ Royba, an employee of the Gulf Air Lines. Raymond William Correia is detained by virtue of an order dated 11-5-1984, passed under Section 3 (1) of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, (hereinafter referred to as the COFEPOSA Act) with a view to preventing him from abetting smuggling of goods. The grounds of detention were also formulated on 11th May 1984 and were served on the detenu -along with the detention order on 18-5-1984.

2. On the basis of the material placed before him, the detaining authority came to the following conclusion:

“You, in the capacity of counter supervisor of Gulf Air Check in counter, helped passenger Chandra Bhatia for fraudulent check in formalities, who was later on caught while attempting to smugglien foreign currency out of India. It is clear from the above, that you abetted Chandra Bhatia in his smuggling activities. Government, therefore, considers it necessary to detain you under COFEPOSA Act, 1974, with a view to prevent you from indulging in such type of prejudicial activities in future."

3. Before considering the challenge made to the detention order we would like to state in nut shell the circumstances in which the detention order came to be passed.

4. In the early hours of 18-2-1984, the Customs Officer of Air Intelligence Unit. Sahar Airport. Bombay during the course of routine surveillance suspected one, passenger at the check in counter of Gulf Airlines who had not checked in any baggage and did not have any other baggage with him, except a plastic shopping bag. This person was one Chandra Bhatia who held Indian Passport No. U-433.114 issued at Dubai on 8-6-1983 and valid up to 8-6-1988 and was in possession of Gulf Air Ticket No. 072-44022339966 for journey Bombay/Dubai/Bombay/Delhi showing checked-in baggage nil and unchecked baggage 0.5 kg. bearing No. P-280. He was also in possession of Gulf Air Boarding Pass showing details of flight No. O53 and destination DXB dated 18.2-1984. The Customs Officer, who was observing the activities of Chandra Bhatia, directed Mahendra Keshav, loader of Gulf Air Lines, that in case the said passenger brought in baggage to the check-in counter, the same should be kept aside. This passenger Chandra Bhatia, who was asked by his maternal father in-law, on Mathuradas to go to Dubai with one bag containing foreign currency, collected his boarding pass after check in for flight No. CF 053 and went near the gate where Mathura Das Bhatia was standing with a brown coloured zipper hand bag.

5. Before that. Mathuradas Bhatia bad given Chandra Bhatia to understand that he had made arrangements at the Airport and that there would not be any trouble there. Mathuradas accompanied Chandra Bhatia to the airport in his own car. He asked Chandra Bhatia to wait outside the airport and alone went inside. Some time later, he returned with the detenu' who was wearing Gulf Air Lines Uniform. They waited some distance away and Mathuradas pointed Chandra Bhatia to the detenu.

6. As mentioned above after collecting the boarding pass, Chandra Bhatia went to the gate where Mathuradas was standing. Mathura Das was having a brown coloured zipper hand bag with him. He asked Chandra Bhatia to keep the said bag on the Gulf Air counter as per his signal. Accordingly, Chandra Bhatia went back to the Gulf Air counter with the bag and after getting the signal from Mathura Das he kept the said hand bag on the check in counter where the detenu was standing. The detenu then gave a baggage tag to Mrs. Pali Samson who was working at the said check in counter and told her to put Sr. No. 25 on the tag and also mentioned the name of the passenger as. Chandra - Accordingly. Mrs. Samson wrote the said number on the baggage tag and handed over the full tag to the detenu, who passed on the same to the passenger, who in torn handed it over to the loader Mahendra Mehre the loa