Compliance with statutory provisions for the retention and return of seized documents under special statutes.

This petition has been filed, praying for a direction to the respondents to return the petitioners passport bearing No.M-155984 so as to enable the petitioner to travel abroad.

2. The facts are thus:

2. 1. Respondents conducted a search in various places during 1995-1996 on assumption of irregularities, inclusive of the premises of the petitioner, and seized certain records along with the passport of the petitioner, bearing No.M-155984, dated 25.08.1992. Six complaints came to be registered by the respondents against the petitioner before the Economic Offences/Additional Chief Metropolitan Court, Egmore, Chennai, in E.O.C.C.Nos.163 of 1996, 17 of 1997, 44 of 1998, 45 of 1998, 411 of 2002 and 459 of 2002 and the said cases are pending.

2. 2. According to the petitioner, since his passport was also seized along with records, he could not undertake travel to foreign countries for his business purpose; the respondents have been retaining the passport, under the guise of investigation and, hence, he has come forward with this petition, for the relief stated supra.

3. Mr.T.Murugesan, learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner, would vehemently argue that it is uncharitable on the part of the respondents to keep back the passport of the petitioner, violating the procedure contemplated in The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, which was applicable to the relevant period. He draws attention of this Court to Section 41 of the Act, which reads thus:

"41. Custody of documents, etc.- Where in pursuance of an order made under subsection (2) of Sec.33 or the provisions of Sec.34 or Sec.36 or Sec.37 or of a requisition or summons under Sec.39 or Sec.40, any document is furnished or seized and any officer of Enforcement has reason to believe that the said document would be evidence of the contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, direction or order made there under, and that it would be necessary to retain the document in his custody, he may so retain the said document for a period not exceeding six months or if, before the expiry of the said period of six months any proceedings -

.(i) under Sec.51 have been commenced, until the disposal of those proceedings, including the proceedings, if any, before the Appellate Board and the High Court, or

.(ii) under Sec.56 have been commenced before a Court, until the document has been filed in the Court:

Provided that the aforesaid period of six months may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, be extended by the Director of Enforcement for a further period not exceeding six months."

4. It shall be stated, that, previously, the period for retention of document was one year and, by means of Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Act, 1993, the said period has been amended as six months.

5. The further argument of the learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner is that within six months from the date of seizure, the respondents failed to initiate the proceedings and, therefore, the passport has necessarily to be returned to the petitioner. In support of his contention, the learned counsel cites a decision of the Honble Supreme Court in Marie Andre Leclerc v. State (Delhi Admn.), AIR 1983 SUPREME COURT 1092 = 1983 Cri.L.J.1445, wherein, a direction for return of passport was issued, on humanitarian ground. The operative portion of the said ruling goes thus:

"2.....But, at the same time, we have to protect the interests of justice because the petitioner is suffering a sentence of life imprisonment for the offence of murder in one case and there are two other cases pending against her – one in the State of U.P. and the other in the State of Karnataka. We would, therefore, direct that the petitioner be allowed to go to Canada on condition that she files an undertaking in the form of an affidavit to this Court to return to India within one year from the date of her departure from this country....."

6. Relying upon the observations made in the above decision, the lear