COFEPOSA | SLP Challenging Report Of Advisory Board/Opinion of Board Not Maintainable: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court recently reiterated that a special leave petition challenging a report of the Advisory Board/Opinion of the Board under the COFEPOSA Act is not maintainable.

The order was passed by a division bench of Justice C T Ravikumar and Justice Sanjay Kumar while hearing a challenge to an order passed by the Central Advisory Board, Karnataka under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act 1974 (COFEPOSA Act).

The Top Court placed reliance on its earlier decision in Union of India v. Nisar Pallathukadavil Aliyar, (2020) 20 SCC 252 which held that Advisory Board's opinion is never intended to be open to challenge on the merits before any tribunal:

“….the nature of opinion given by the Advisory Board is neither judicial nor quasi judicial; that it would be erroneous and unsafe to treat the opinion expressed by the Advisory Board as amounting to a judgment of a criminal court; that the Advisory Board does not try the question about the propriety or validity of the citizen’s detention as a court of law would, but, its function is limited”

The Court in the said case was considering an SLP challenging the opinion of the Advisory Board constituted under Section 8(a) of COFEPOSA Act. The Apex Court in the said case, after relying on a catena of judgments on the question, concluded that the opinion of the Advisory Board cannot be subjected to judicial scrutiny. The opinion of the Advisory Board cannot be the subject matter of review or scrutiny by the judicial courts/tribunals, the Apex Court had observed. 

Case Title: Union of India V. Dharanessh Raji Shetty, Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 8063-8064/2018

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 547

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