In Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State rf Gujarat

'Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of lndia praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith' the High Court may be pleased to issue a writ, order or direclion more particularly one in the nature of writ of tt4andamus declaring the action of the Respondents in not releasing the petitioner's two wheeler vehicle (Active Honda) lVodel: 2023, color: Pearl precious white through finance lndusind Bank Ltd, bearing registration No. TS08 JZ 6097 , Chasis No.tr,4E4JK1 56LPG318936, seized in Crime No 61 of 2024 under sections 8(c) r/w. 20 (bxii)(A) of NDPS Act on the file Kachiguda Excise Police station, as illegal, arbitrary, violation of provisions of Telangana Excise Act, and violative of Articles 14 and 300-4 of the constitution of lndia and apart from being violative of principles of natural justice and consequently release the petitioner's two wheeler vehicle (Active Honda) tt/odel . 2023, color . Pearl Precious white through finance lndusind Bank Ltd, bearing registration No. TS08 JZ 6097 ' chasis No. fi4E4JK1 56LPG318936, seized in crime No.61 '> 2024 under sections 8(c)r/w.20(bXii)(A)ofNDPSActonthefi|eKachigudaExr;;ePoliceStation. lA NO: 1 OF 2025 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the c.i cumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High co I t may be pleased to direct the Respondents to release the petitioner's two vr eeler vehicle (Active Honda) l\4odel . 2023. color. Pearl Precious white through nance lnduslnd Bank Ltd, bearing registration No. TSOS JZ 6097, Chasis No v E4JK1 561.-PG318936, seized in crime No.61 of 2024 under sections B(c) r/w. 2( b)(iixA) of NDPS Act on the file Kachiguda Excise Police Station, pending final ci posal of the main writ petition. Counsel for the Petitioner : SRI BALA MALLESH D Counsel for the Respondent Nos. 1 & 2: GP FOR PROHlll TION EXCISE Counsel for the Respondent No.3 : GP FOR HOME The Court made the following: ORDER I THE HON'BLE SRI .IUSTICE K.LAKSHMAN WRIT PETITION No.l455l OF 2025 ORDER: I lcard Sri [).Bala Mallesh, learned counsel lor the pctitioner and lcarned Assistant Gor.,erunrcr.rt Pleader tbr Prohibition and Excise f. Petitioncr hercin is the absolute ou'ncr and possessor ol'the tu'o q heelcr- i.c. Actiya [ londa, Mode 1 2023, pearI prccious rvhite, rrith rcgistration No. IS08 JZ6097 (fbr short, 'the srrbjcct rehiclc'). lrr prool' ol'the sarne, he has filcd copy olRegistration Certitlcate (t{C). -[hc vel.riclc rvas seized in COR No.61 of 20.4 by Respondent No.3. 'l'he said clirne was rcgistered fbr the ofTence punishable under Section 8 (c) rcad ri'ith 20(b) (ii) (A) of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 198-5 (fbr shor1, 'NDPS Act'). The accuscd is friend of the pelitione'r. 1-hc allegation leve led against the accused in ttre said crime is that hc lras transported 620 grarns of dly Cania. i. It is the specihc contention of the petitioner herein that he has no knorvledge olthe said transpoftation ofganja. Accused is his friend, therefore, the petitioner gave his vehicle to the accused. The said vehiclc is involved in the aforesaid crime. The vehicle is now in the custody of 3''l rcspondent If the said vehicle is exposed to Sun, rain and dust, it r- 1 will get spoiled. He is a student. He uses the subject r c I iclc fbr parl tirnc job. The petition liLed by the petitioner before the \dditional (lhief Metropolitan Nlagistlatc. Nampally at Hyderab:rd. li r rclcasc ol thc subjcct vehiclc, uas reLurncd on the point of .iurisclictL, n. Iherelbre. he seeks to release the sLrbjcct vehicle.

4. Whelcas. learned Asst.Ciovt.Pleader for Prolrit tion and Excise. on tnstructrons ll'ould subnrit that 3"1 rcspondent ha:r reccived vchicle from the lcarncd Maeistratc/dcs ignated Clourl onlr, ) (,t tcrday and he is going to subnrit thc sanre belbre thc Drug Disposirl l'onulittec. The Drug Disposal Clornntittcc has to pass oldcrs iu tent: ol Scctions 52, 52(A) of NDI']S Act. l'hus, tl're sLrbject vehicle u,as seized on

04.1 1.2024. Confi scarion proceedings are pending.

5. The lcnrned counscl tbr-the petitioner relie<l t pon [he C]ircular No.l3lSO/20 I9. datetl 1i.07.2019 issr-rcd bv tl'ris Coult

6. The Apcx ('our1 in Union o[ lndia v. Molr rnlalr, held rhat necessary procedurc prescribed in Section 52-A of rhe Act to be followed to release the vehicle for intcrim custod., and laid down certain guidelines in paragraph No.20, rvl.rich are as fbl r ri,s: "20. To suln up \1.c direct as undcr: (1)No sooner thc seizurc of anv Narcotic DrLtc; ancl Psvchotropic and controlled Substanccs an<l (20 r6) i scc r79 J Conveyances is eflcctcd. the same shall be tbnvarded to thc ollicer in-charge of the nearest poliee statiort or to thc ollicer ctttpowcrcd l lnder Scction 53 ol'the Act. fhe olflcer conccrned sllall thcn approach tllc Magislrate u ith an application I Lrdcr Section 5]A(ii) o1' thc Act, rvhich shall be Irllorr cJ hl tlrc Vugislr.llc u5 soon as tttitr be lequircd I Inder- Srrb-Scction 3 ol' Scction 52A. as cliscussed b1, us in the bodv ol this.iudgmcnl ttnder thc hcatling 'scizurc and sarnpling'. 'fhc sarnpling shall bc tlonc undcr the supclvision ol the magistl ate as tliscussed in paras l3 aDd l,+ ol'this ordor. ( 2 ) Thc Ccntral Ciovcrnmettt ancl its agencies atld stl also the State (ior'crnments shalI rr ithin six nlonths liorn todal, take appropriate stcps to set up storage facilitics lor the crclusive storage ol seized Narcotic l)rugs and Psrchotropic and conttolled Substances and Clonve:-ances du[1' ctluipped u'ith vaults and doublc Iocking s)'stem to prevent theft, pilt'crage or rcplaccment ol' tlie scized drugs. The Cerrtral (iorcrnment and the Statc Governmcnts shall also designatc an ol'llcer each lbr their respective storage facilitr and providc lor other steps, mcasures as stipulatcd in Standing Order No- 1/89 to eusure proper securitl against thcft, pilleragc or rcplaccrnent of thc seized drugs. (3) t'he Central Govemment and the State Govcrnments shall be tieo to set up a storage lacility fbr each district in thc Statcs and dopending upon the { - extent of seizure and store required, one s .oralle lacilit_r lor rn(rre than onc dislricls. (4) I)isposal ol'the seized drugs cunentll. lvino in llrt: police miralkhaus arrd othcr places usetl tir' : ( ) Ta!,c slt:rll bc calricrl out hr thc D[)Cs conccrncd i't of the clircctrons issLtod b1' us in the hodr , lcfDls I rh is iud,urnent under the hr-,ading 'disposal ol'drugs.

7. In Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai vs. State rf Gujarat2, tl-re Apex Clourt held that whatevel bc the situation. it is ( I uo usc to keep such-seized vehiclcs at the policc statiorrs lor a long p j iod. It is 1br the Magistlate to pass appropriatc ordcrs imnrediatell, bl i king appropriate bond and guaralttee as r.r ell as scculity firr return o1' tlr, saitl l,ehicles, if required at any point of time. 'l-his can be done p: rr-ling hearing of applications ltrl return ol- such vehiclcs. Various lJi llt ClotLlts in thc judgments statcd abovc, alter rcfcrring to various pnr., sions of tl-re Act, including Sections - 52-A, 60 and 63 and various pnr' sions of'Cr.p.C., and also the principle laid dou'n in Sunderbhai Amb I al Desai (supra) and Mohanlal (supra), ordered to be released the vcl-r ir les seizecl in the crimes for the of-fences under the Act

8. In the other judgments rnentioned above, r:lyiug upon the principle laid dora,n by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ir ohanlal (supra), 'lzoozy to scc u s-t I :! the respective I{igh Courts have held that the Magistrates/Designatcd Coufts irndcr the Act have to release crime vehicles seized in connection rvith crimes lbr the o['fences under the Act ou velification of ou'nershi;r documcnts and on in-rposition of cerlain condirions.

9. t'his Court vide order datcd 12.10.202.0 in Crl.P. No.2662 ol 2020, rctying upou the decisions in .Iagtar Sing vs. State of Rajasthans (supra) and Waish Ahmed vs. -I'he State of west Bengala of different High CoLrrts and also in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai (supra) granted the lelief of interinr custocly to the owner ol the vehicle on certaitr conditions. l-his Court has issucd the Circular No.l3lSO/2019, dated

15.07.20 19 by rclcrring to the principle laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in Mohanlal (supra). Section 52-A of the Act was also ref'emed therein. I0. In view o1'the principlc laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court and the lcspcctive High Courts in the judgrnents refered to above, coming to ttre case on hand. it is not in dispute that the petitioner is owner of the above criure vehicle and the same was seized in thc abovc crime. LIe has also filed copy o1'Certificate of Registration wherein the name of the owner of the vehicle and registration number are specifically rnentioned. Ile is not an accused in the said crirne. The ' S.B.Criminal Misc.(t'cl.) No.3542 of 2017, dated 09.1 1 2017 'c,R.R.No.l82 ()f 2018. dared 18.01.2019 6 accuscd in the aloresaid crime is his friend. Thc offLn e alleged agairrst the accused is under Section - 8 (c) read r.vith 20 (b) (i I (A) of the Act. [ [. As discussed supra, thc Hon'ble Suprenic ( i rLrrt categorically held that i1 is oi'no usc to keep such-scizcd vehicles rLt i rc police s[aLions for a long period. The subject vchiclc is of the: car' 2023 make. Therefore, the petitioner is entitled fbr release ol' the ; rlr-ie-cr vehicle rill disposal of the proce,edings betbre the Drr-rq Dispos r Conrrnittee and also conflscation pr-oceedi ngs.

12. In the light ol' thc afblesaid discussion. rl i; urir petirion is allorved. The 3"r lespondent is directed to produce rrr sLrb.iect rehiclc i.e. the two r.vheeler i.e. Activa l{onda, Model 2():.. , pcar.[ precious white, with registlation No.TS08 JZ 6097 be fore thc .) 'r rcspondenr. 2'"1 respondent is dilectcd to giv'e intcr-inr custody. ol tlt,: : _rb.iect velticlc tcr the petit.ioner on proper veriflcation ol' ownelsl i I u.irh or.i_uinal certificate of legistration on the lollowing conditions:- i) - The petitioner/orvncr o1' the crirne vchic I . shall lurnish a personal bond for a sum of Rs. 10,0() )i - (Rupees tcn thousand only) with one surety tbr zr ike sum to the satisfaction of the 2nd respondent. ii) He shall deposit the original ceftificatc. < I registratiou in respect of the crime vehicle with the 2',.r rcspondent. -t-f 7 Howc-r,er', 2"'1 r'csPondent shall isstre its ccrtiflcd copy to the petitioner to enable him to ply'the vehicle on road without tl-rerc-bcing anr hindrancc; and iii) He shull qirc irrr undcrt:rkir-rg to the el'lcct that he sl'rall produce the clirne rehicle as aud rvhen required either bcfbr-c the lnr cstisatirrs Otflcer or- bctbrc tht: Courl and that he shall not ulicnirte. alter ol chzurge tlrc colour of the subjcct vch ic le Conseqrrentl_r. nrisccllarrccir.rs l)etitions. i1'any, pending in this rvrit petition, shall stand c Ioscd SD/.K.BHAVANI SWAMY ISTANT REGISTRAR A //TRUE COPY// ECTION OFFICER To, The Principal Secretary, Department of Prohibit Saifabad, ihe State of Telangana Hyderabad. ion and Excise, Secretariat,

2. The Deputy Commissroner, Prohibition and Excise, Hyderabad Division' Hyderabad.

3. The Station House Officer, Kachiguda Excise Police Station, Hyderabad' 4. One CC to SRl. BALA IVALLESH D Advocate [OPUC] 5.TwoCCstoGPFoRPRoHlBlTloNEXCISE'HighCourtfortheStateof Telangana. [OUT]

6. Two CCs to GP FOR HOME, High Court for the State of Telangana' [OUT] 7. Two CD CoPies PVL BS HIGH COURT DATED:2810812025 =:!i1 R s r l() 1r * 5ir rl 2t126 s Pqi * ORDER WP.No.14551 of 2025 DISPOSING OF THE WRIT PETITION WITHOUT COSTS J,