A.J. DESAI, J. - Wife of detenue Madhu Devi Ashok Panchariya has challenged the detention order dated 14.6.2012, passed against her husband Ashok Panchariya by respondent No.1 i.e. Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, C.O.F.E.P.O.S.A. unit who has been detained under the provisions of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (C.O.F.E.P.O.S.A.) on 22.6.2012.

2. The petition came to be circulated before this Court on 16.7.2012. By Order dated 16.7.2012 `Rule nisi' was issued and the Registry was directed to list the matter for final hearing in seriatim considering the actual date of detention.

3. Being aggrieved with the direction of this Court about fixing the final hearing of the matter as per the seriatim considering the actual date of detention, the petitioner filed a Special Leave Petitions, being Spl. Leave Appeal (Cri) No. 5880 and 5881 of 2012. The Apex Court, by Order dated 13.8.2012 before the Supreme Court of India, disposed of the said Special Leave Petitions, by asking this Court to hear and dispose of the pending Special Civil Application within six weeks from the date. It appears from the record that the matter was heard by coordinate Bench of this Court on several occasions, but, because of change of Roster, the same could not be finally decided by the coordinate Bench and thereafter the matter has been transferred to this Court and accordingly the matter has been taken up by this Court for final hearing on day-today- basis. The parties have completed the pleadings by filing their additional affidavits and two affidavit-in-replies.

4. The facts which emerge from the record of the case are briefly stated as under:

4.1. The allegations against the detenue, which surfaces from the Order in question, is that the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ahmedabad Zonal Unit, gathered information that one M/s S.V. Enterprise, situated near Nagdev Temple, Geljipura Road, Sarkhej, Ahmedabad, was importing `Betel Nuts of Indonesian Origin' but declaring the same as of Sri Lankan origin so as to wrongly avail the benefits of Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and India which provides for partial exemption of customs duty to specified goods imported in accordance with the Customs Tariff Rules, 2000.

4.2. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence gathered information that the betel nuts, which were exported from Indonesia/Singapore, were first imported to Sri Lanka and after repacking and changing of the containers, then exported to Nhava Sheva with a false certificate of origin of Sri Lanka so as to avail undue benefits of exemption of customs duty by showing the country of origin as Sri Lanka. Not only that, the goods imported from Indonesia were grossly undervalued so as to evade payment of appropriate customs duty.

4.3. On the basis of information so gathered, on 12.11.2011, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ahmedabad, had carried out searches at the premises of said M/s S.V. Enterprises, situated at the address mentioned above as well as at the residential premises of the detenue i.e. Situated at No. 4, Vrindavan Bungalow, Part-I, Opp: Shridhar Farm, Thaltej-Shilaj Road, Ahmedabad. Incriminating documents were recovered; panchnama was drawn and statements of Sarfarazkhan Sarvarkhan Pathan, Partner of M/s S.V. Enterprises and Mohammed Ali Ganthi of M/s International, a Sri Lankan national, who had purportedly supplied the betel nuts imported from Indonesia as betel nuts of Sri Lankan origin, were recorded.

4.4. At the time of drawing panchnama at the Office of the detenue on 12.11.2011, e-mail account of one Shri Dharamveer Shekhawat, partner of M/s S.V. Enterprise, was opened and certain evidences, showing financial transactions and other correspondences with regard to import of betel nuts were accessed and the print outs of the same were taken under panchnama. The Intelligenc