Forfeiture of properties in respect of economic offences: the Indian experience.

India has on its statute book a number of enactments providing for seizure and forfeiture or confiscation of illegally acquired property. The Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act, 1976, provides for forfeiture of both movable and immovable property illegally acquired by smugglers and foreign exchange manipulators and their relatives and associates. The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, contains provisions for the detention of certain persons to prevent them from undertaking certain prejudicial activities. The normal maximum period of detention under the Act is one year, but in respect of certain activities and in specified areas highly vulnerable to smuggling, it may be extended to two years. The Customs Act, 1962, provides for penal sanctions against infringement of its provisions, including departmental adjudication in respect of smuggled goods, imposition of penalties and prosecution by a court of law, which in certain cases may impose a sentence of imprisonment of up to seven years. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, provides for confiscation of securities, moneys and properties arising from such offences as the unauthorized export or import of currency and nonbanking foreign exchange transactions. The existing central laws on narcotics--the Opium Acts, 1857 and 1878, and the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930--contain provisions for confiscation of narcotics and related goods under certain circumstances. Since stringent measures generally lead to greater ingenuity and sophistication in methods of drug trafficking.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)