Non-Supply of Pen Drive Not Fatal to COFEPOSA Detention, Only Relied-Upon Documents Need Be Furnished: Supreme Court [Read Judgement]

In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of India upheld preventive detention under the COFEPOSA Act and clarified that non-supply of a pen drive containing electronic evidence would not vitiate the detention if the detenus were given access to its contents.

The case arose after authorities intercepted a passenger at Bengaluru International Airport on 03 March 2025 and recovered 17 foreign-marked gold bars weighing about 14.2 kilograms.

During the investigation, statements and digital evidence indicated the involvement of another individual in facilitating disposal of smuggled gold and handling hawala transactions. Based on this material, detention orders were passed on 22 April 2025.

The detenus challenged the detention orders, arguing that the pen drive containing CCTV footage which formed part of the relied-upon material was not properly supplied to them. They argued that merely showing the contents was insufficient and that failure to provide the pen drive affected their right to make an effective representation under Article 22(5) of the Constitution.

Justice M. M. Sundresh and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh observed that the contents of the pen drive were shown to the detenus in prison through a laptop and that efforts were made to provide the device to their representatives.

The court explained that prison rules do not allow detenus to freely access electronic devices and pointed out that the detenus did not make any further request to view the material again. It further explained that the law requires supply of relied-upon documents and not necessarily the physical device in which such material is stored.

In view of this, the court upheld the detention orders and rejected the challenge based on non-supply of the pen drive.

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