SAFEMA notice requirements: primary notice goes to the property holder who must explain its source, not always the convict or detenu.

Under SAFEMA, Section 6(1) notice is to be served on the person who holds the allegedly illegally acquired property and is able to explain its source. The Act extends to convicts, detenus, relatives and associates, and Section 6(2) addresses situations where property is held on behalf of another person. Read harmoniously, these provisions do not make notice to the convict or detenu mandatory where the property stands in the relative's name and possession and that relative is a person to whom the Act applies. The burden under Section 8 arises only after valid notice to the appropriate holder of the property.

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Issues: Whether, under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976, a primary notice under Section 6(1) must be served on the convict or detenu before proceedings can be initiated against relatives who hold the properties, or whether notice to the relative or other holder alone is sufficient when the property stands in that person's name or possession.

Analysis: Section 2 of the Act extends its application not only to convicts and detenus, but also to their relatives, associates and holders of property traceable to them. Section 4 prohibits a person to whom the Act applies from holding illegally acquired property, whether directly or through another person on his behalf. Section 6(1) requires notice to be issued to the person holding the property and capable of explaining its source, after the competent authority records reasons to believe based on material gathered under Section 18. The expression "held" covers ownership as well as legal possession. Section 6(2) deals with service of a copy on any other person where the property is held on behalf of the primary noticee. Read harmoniously, these provisions do not require a mandatory notice to the convict or detenu where the property is in the name and possession of the relative who is itself a person to whom the Act applies. The burden under Section 8 lies on the noticee after valid issuance of notice, and the convict or detenu cannot be required to discharge that burden where he has no present legal interest in the property.

Conclusion: A primary notice to the convict or detenu was not mandatory in the facts of these appeals, and notice to the respondents as holders of the properties was sufficient.

Ratio Decidendi: Under SAFEMA, notice under Section 6 must be served on the person who holds the allegedly illegally acquired property and is liable to explain it, and not necessarily on the convict or detenu, unless the property is held on behalf of that convict or detenu.

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