IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL No.2056 OF 2008
(Arising out of S.L.P.(CRL.)NO.6373/2007)
REKHA UMESH SHETTY ... Appellant(s)
Versus
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS. ... Respondent(s)
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL No.2096 OF 2008
(Arising out of S.L.P.(CRL.)NO.8039 of 2007)
ORDER
1 Leave granted.
2 These appeals which are directed against the order of
Preventive Detention passed under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange
and Prevention of Smuggling Activities, Act, 1974,(COFEPOSA Act) are
covered by our recent judgment in the case of Deepak Bajaj Vs. State of
Maharashtra & Anr., reported in 2008 (14) SCALE-62. In the said decision,
we had, inter alia, held that in the event, the Detaining Authority was
supplied with the confession made by the detenu, the subsequent statement
of the detenu-co-detenu retracting such confession should also have been
placed before the said Authority. The facts of
this case are more or less similar to the facts involved in Deepak Bajaj’s
case. In this case also while the confession of the detenu(co-detenu) was
placed before the Detaining Authority, the retraction was not, as will be
evident from paragraphs 19 and 20 of the order impugned in these appeals.
3 We, therefore, allow the appeals and quash the
detention orders dated 16th August, 2006 and 21st August, 2006 respectively.
……………….J.
(ALTAMAS KABIR)
………………..J.
(MARKANDEY KATJU)
New Delhi,
December 17, 2008.