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3. In October, 2005, the media and various Newspapers carried reports relating to the Volcker Report, which had named several persons as recipients of favors, for facilitating the Iraqi 'Oil for Food' Programme. One Mr. Andleeb Sehgal and his concern, Hamdan Export were named. The respondents (hereinafter refereed to as 'Directorate') caused notices to be issued to the petitioner on 15-11-2005, requiring him to appear in its Offices. He was also asked to produce copy of his passport. It is not disputed that the petitioner was out of town; he was in Sudan. The notice was received by his wife, who communicated it to him. He reached New Delhi the next day, and presented himself, in compliance with the notice. It is alleged, and not controverter by the respondents that the petitioner was asked to surrender his passport to the respondent Directorate, which he did, on 17-11-2005. The latter did not issue any formal or written order, in justification of its action, and kept the passport.

4. The petitioner avers that he co-operated with the respondents, at all times, in the investigations into the Oil for Food scam, and kept representing for the release of the passport, but to no avail. On 10.2.2006, the Directorate issued an order impounding the petitioner's passport along with that of four others. That order reads as follows:

"DIRECtorATE OF ENFORCEMENT FOREIGN EXCHANGE MANAGEMENT ACT GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 6th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi-110 003 F.No.:T-1/HQ/305/05(Court) Pt.11 Date: 10.02.2006 ORDER FOR IMPOUNDING OF PASSPORTS UNDER SECTION 37 OF FEMA, 1999 READ WITH SECTION 131(3) OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 Consequent to the Volcker Committee Report on Oil-For-Food Programme of the United Nations in Iraq, investigations have been initiated by the Page 1799 Directorate of Enforcement under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999. During the course of investigation, passports of the following persons were summoned by the Directorate, as detailed below, for the purposes of investigation:

Sd/-

(S.K. Panda) Special Director

5. The petitioner impugns the retention and impounding of his passport as violative of his fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(d) and 19(1)(g) read with Article 21 of the Constitution of India. He also alleges that in the absence of being named in, or in any way connected with, the Iraqi ''Oil for Food'' Programme or implicated in the Volcker Report, the respondents could not have issued the order impounding his passport. It is also claimed that the withholding of his passport and its impounding is contrary to law and provisions of FEMA; it has an adverse impact on the petitioner's livelihood and right to life, which include the right to travel abroad.

35. The impugned order also states that the nature of the mater is sensitive and keeping in mind all the four considerations, the passport of the petitioner, was being impounded. The petitioner has not seriously disputed that the process of investigation into the Volcker Committee Report on Oil for Food Programmes of the United Nations in Iraq are under way. In that report, names of several persons were indicated. The petitioner's son Andleeb Sehgal and his associates were named as persons who handled transactions. Although the petitioner strongly endeavored to state that he had no connection with his sons transaction and that there was only one entry in the balance sheet of Aviv Export House (Private) Limited in which he and his son are co-Directors, the respondents rely on the close relationship of the petitioner and his son and also the fact that the petitioner is now seeking release of his passport to sign a consultancy contract, which was entered into in November 2005 after the Volcker Committee Report became public. These facts were cited as grounds to voice the authorities' apprehensions about his true intentions.