Kerala HC Upholds Detention Of An Accused Man In A Gold Smuggling Case

The Kerala High Court on Friday upheld the detention of Abdul Raoof, accused in a gold smuggling case worth over Rs 7 crore through the Cochin port. The accused Abdul Raoof was detained by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in 2021 under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA).

Raoof’s detention was upheld by a division bench consisting of Justices Anil K Narendran and P G Ajithkumar. It was hearing a petition against his detention, alleging that he was not given certain documents related to the case.

The court observed that the accused failed to mention the relevance of the documents he sought in the writ petition.

The court stated in its order dated January 24 that, “The detainee did not explain how such documents are relevant to his right to make a meaningful and effective representation and how the non-supply has affected his right to do so. In such circumstances, his attack to the detention order on the ground of non-supply of documents fails as well.”

Manu S, Deputy Solicitor General of India, stated that the documents demanded by the detainee were completely irrelevant.

The investigating agency also stated that the detaining authority had arrived at the “subjective satisfaction, and all necessary documents were furnished to the detenu (accused)”.

The case involves an unaccompanied baggage that was checked by the DRI on April 20,2021 and discovered contraband gold weighing 14,763.300 gms and valued at Rs 7.16 crore hidden inside the compressor of the refrigerator.

On the same day, the sleuths summoned three people, including the accused’s father-in-law, and recorded their statements.

DRI claimed in court that the accused ran a cargo handling and forwarding business in Dubai and was scouting for passengers who sent unaccompanied cargo to India.

It also stated that despite numerous summonses, the accused, who was residing in a Gulf country, refused to appear before the investigating officers. When he arrived in the state, he was arrested.