Muthumanikandan @ Billa Mani vs State Of Tamilnadu Rep By In
- Court
- Madras High Court
CRL.RC(MD)No.615 of 2026
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
Reserved On: 12.10.2026
Delivered On: 30.10.2026
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE B.MURUGESAN
CRL RC(MD) No. 615 of 2026
CNR:{HCMD010480432026}
Muthumanikandan @ Billa Mani
... Petitioner
Vs.
State Of Tamilnadu Rep By Inspector Of Police, Ramanathapuram Town
Police Station,
Ramanathapuram District.
(Crime No.316 of 2024) ... Respondent
PRAYER: Criminal Revision filed under Sections 438 and 442 BNSS to
call for the records and to set aside the order passed by the Additional
District and Sessions Judge/Presiding Officer Special Court for E.C. and
NDPS Act Cases, Pudukkottai in Cr.M.P.No.185 of 2026 dated
23.03.2026 and allow this petition by grant interim custody of the
petitioner’s white colored VOLKSWAGEN Car bearing Registration
No.TN-11-C-4153.
For Petitioner : Mr.B.Maharajan
For Respondent : Mrs.V.Moushica,
Counsel for State of TN(Crl.Side)
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CRL.RC(MD)No.615 of 2026
ORDER
Heard and admitted.
02. With the consent of both parties, this criminal revision was
taken up for final hearing on 12.10.2026.
03. Claiming an order setting aside the dismissal order dated
23.03.2026 of the Additional Sessions Judge/Presiding Officer, Special
Court for EC and NDPS Act Cases, Pudukkottai, hereinafter referred to
as ‘the special court’ for the sake of brevity, passed in
Crl.MP.No.185/2026, an application filed by the revision
petitioner/petitioner/A1 under S.497 BNSS for an order granting him
interim custody of a vehicle, Volkswagen Car, bearing registration
number TN 11 C 4153, the property in RP No.77/2025 involved in Cr
No.316/2024 under S.8(c) r/w 20(b)(ii)(B) and S.25 NDPS Act on the
file of Ramanathapuram Town Police Station, the revision
petitioner/petitioner/A1 has filed this Criminal Revision Petition under
S.438 BNSS.
04. For the sake of convenience, the parties are referred
hereunder according to their litigative status and ranking in this
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criminal revision, 'the revision petitioner' and 'the revision respondent',
unless the context otherwise requires.
05. Sans minute details, the case of the revision petitioner in the
special court is that a vehicle, Volkswagen Car, bearing registration
number TN 11 C 4153, is said to have involved in Cr No.316/2024
under S.8(c) r/w 20(b)(ii)(B) and S.25 NDPS Act on the file of
Ramanathapuram Town Police Station, that in pursuance of such
registration of the criminal case, the aforesaid property has been seized
by the respondent police, that the aforesaid property is now in the
custody of the respondent police but without proper care or
maintenance, that the aforesaid property, if left idle without proper
maintenance, would become useless and ruined and that therefore, the
interim custody of the aforesaid property needs to be granted to the
revision petitioner being its owner.
06. Bereft of unnecessary details, the case of the revision
respondent in the special court is that the investigation is still pending,
that if the property concerned is returned to the revision petitioner, it
would be used for the commission of similar offence or it might be
sold by the revision petitioner and that therefore, this criminal
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CRL.RC(MD)No.615 of 2026
miscellaneous petition seeking such interim custody of the property
concerned deserves for dismissal.
07. Neither the revision petitioner nor the revision respondent
has chosen to lead any evidence, either oral or documentary, before the
trial court.
08. On enquiry, the special court has dismissed the criminal
miscellaneous petition in Crl MP No.185/2026 on the finding that the
investigation is still pending and that the property/vehicle has been
handed over to Drugs Disposal Committee (DDC) under S.52A NDPS
Act.
09. Heard both sides, and perused all the materials available.
10. Learned counsel for the revision petitioner would submit that
the dismissal of the claim of interim custody of the property is not only
against law but also against the settled principles on such grant of
interim custody of the vehicles, that the trial court, without due
application of its judicial mind, has simply accepted the objections
raised by the revision respondent and thereby dismissed the criminal
miscellaneous petition in mechanical manner, that therefore, the order
of the special court is obviously liable to be interfered with and that
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CRL.RC(MD)No.615 of 2026
therefore, this criminal revision petition, in the interest of justice, needs
to be allowed, setting aside the order of the special court and thereby
granting the interim custody of the property concerned.
11. Learned counsel for the State (Crl Side) appearing for the
revision respondent would submit that the investigation is still pending,
that if the property concerned is returned to the revision petitioner, it
would be used for the commission of similar offence or it might be
sold by the revision petitioner, that the vehicle has been handed over to
Drugs Disposal Committee (DDC) under S.52A NDPS Act, that
therefore, the order of the special court is lawful and perfect and that
therefore, this criminal revision petition deserves for dismissal in
limine .
12. On careful consideration of the criminal revision petition
filed by the revision petitioner, the related material records and the
submissions made on both sides, this court formulates the following
point for determination:
Whether the revision petitioner is entitled to get
such an order setting aside the dismissal order dated
23.03.2026 of the special court in Crl MP No.185/2026,
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an application filed by the revision
petitioner/petitioner/A1 under S.497 BNSS for an order
granting him interim custody of a vehicle, Volkswagen
Car, bearing registration number TN 11 C 4153, the
property in RP No.77/2025 involved in Cr No.316/2024
under S.8(c) r/w 20(b)(ii)(B) and S.25 NDPS Act on the
file of Ramanathapuram Town Police Station, as prayed
for?
13. The Point
(1) S.497 BNSS deals inter alia with the custody of the property,
produced before a criminal court, pending investigation, inquiry or
trial. S.498 BNSS deals inter alia with the delivery of the property,
produced before a criminal court, at the conclusion of investigation,
inquiry or trial. S.503 BNSS deals inter alia with the delivery of the
property, not produced before a criminal court.
(2) S.497 BNSS would read as under:
497. Order for custody and disposal of property pending trial in
certain cases.
(1) When any property is produced before any Criminal Court or
the Magistrate empowered to take cognizance or commit the
case for trial during any investigation, inquiry or trial, the Court
or the Magistrate may make such order as it thinks fit for the
proper custody of such property pending the conclusion of the
investigation, inquiry or trial, and, if the property is subject to
speedy and natural decay, or if it is otherwise expedient so to do,
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the Court or the Magistrate may, after recording such evidence
as it thinks necessary, order it to be sold or otherwise disposed
of.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, "property"
includes-(a) property of any kind or document which is
produced before the Court or which is in its custody;
(b) any property regarding which an offence appears to
have been committed or which appears to have been used
for the commission of any offence.
(2) The Court or the Magistrate shall, within a period of
fourteen days from the production of the property referred to in
sub-section (1) before it, prepare a statement of such property
containing its description in such form and manner as the State
Government may, by rules, provide.
(3) The Court or the Magistrate shall cause to be taken the
photograph and if necessary, videograph on mobile phone or any
electronic media, of the property referred to in sub-section (1).
(4)The statement prepared under sub-section (2) and the
photograph or the videography taken under sub-section (3) shall
be used as evidence in any inquiry, trial or other proceeding
under the Sanhita.
(5) The Court or the Magistrate shall, within a period of
thirty days after the statement has been prepared under sub-
section (2) and the photograph or the videography has been
taken under sub-section (3), order the disposal, destruction,
confiscation or delivery of the property in the manner specified
hereinafter.
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(3) S.498 BNSS (relevant provisions thereof) would read as
under:
498. Order for disposal of property at conclusion of trial.
(1)When an investigation, inquiry or trial in any criminal case is
concluded, the Court or the Magistrate may make such order as
it thinks fit for the disposal, by destruction, confiscation or
delivery to any person claiming to be entitled to possession
thereof or otherwise, of any property or document produced
before it or in its custody, or regarding which any offence
appears to have been committed, or which has been used for the
commission of any offence.
(2)An order may be made under sub-section (1) for the delivery
of any property to any person claiming to be entitled to the
possession thereof, without any condition or on condition that he
executes a bond, with or without securities, to the satisfaction of
the Court or the Magistrate, engaging to restore such property to
the Court if the order made under sub-section (1) is modified or
set aside on appeal or revision.
…………..
…………..
(4) S.503 BNSS (relevant provision thereof) would read as
under:
503. Procedure by police upon seizure of property.
(1)Whenever the seizure of property by any police officer is
reported to a Magistrate under the provisions of this Sanhita, and
such property is not produced before a Criminal Court during an
inquiry or trial, the Magistrate may make such order as he thinks
fit respecting the disposal of such property or the delivery of
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such property to the person entitled to the possession thereof, or
if such person cannot be ascertained, respecting the custody and
production of such property.
…………
(5) Therefore, it is clear that S.497, S.498 and S.503 BNSS deal
with the custody or delivery, as the case may be, of the property
involved in a criminal case, and such claim of custody or delivery can
be made by a person entitled to the possession thereof.
(6) A vehicle is said to have involved in this case on hand and
accordingly, the aforesaid property has been seized by the police.
(7) On careful study on the order dated 23.03.2026 of the special
court passed in Crl MP No.185/2026, this court finds that the special
court has dismissed the aforesaid application filed under S.497 BNSS
on the ground that the investigation is still pending and that the
property/vehicle has been handed over to Drugs Disposal Committee
(DDC) under S.52A NDPS Act.
(8) At this juncture, this court would like to refer to the decision
of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai V State of
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Gujarat ((2002) 10 SCC 283) and the relevant portion thereof would
read as under:
' 17 . In our view, whatever be the situation, it is of
no use to keep such seized vehicles at the police stations
for a long period. It is for the Magistrate to pass
appropriate orders immediately by taking appropriate
bond and guarantee as well as security for return of the
said vehicles, if required at any point of time. This can be
done pending hearing of applications for return of such
vehicles.'
(9) Selvam V State by Inspector of Police (2012 (1) MWN
(Cr) 288) is also a case where this court, while dealing with the return
of a vehicle to the claimant/accused, has held as under:
' 6 ……………, it would be seen that in directing
return of vehicles, even to Accused persons, in the manner
contemplated in the decisions of the Apex Court of
Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai V State of Gujarat, 2003 (1)
CTC 175 and General Insurance Council and others V State
of Andhra Pradesh and others, 2010 (6) SCC 768, no
trampling of powers bestowed upon the trial Courts under
Section 452 CrPC is involved. Therefore, it would be fit
and proper to deal with applications seeking return of
vehicles without being clouded with the vision of the
claimant being an Accused.'
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(10) Of course, a technical issue is involved in this case on hand
in terms of S.52A NDPS Act, and the special court has also observed
that the vehicle concerned has been forwarded to Drugs Disposal
Committee (DDC) under S.52A NDPS Act which would read as under:
52A. Disposal of seized narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances.—
(1) The Central Government may, having regard to the
hazardous nature, vulnerability to theft, substitution, constraint
of proper storage space or any other relevant consideration, in
respect of any narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances,
controlled substances or conveyances, by notification in the
Official Gazette, specify such narcotic drugs, psychotropic
substances, controlled substances or conveyance or class of
narcotic drugs, class of psychotropic substances, class of
controlled substances or conveyances, which shall, as soon as
may be after their seizure, be disposed of by such officer and in
such manner as that Government may, from time to time,
determine after following the procedure hereinafter specified.
(2)Where any narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances,
controlled substances or conveyances has been seized and
forwarded to the officer-in-charge of the nearest police station or
to the officer empowered under section 53, the officer referred to
in sub-section (1) shall prepare an inventory of such narcotic
drugs or psychotropic substances containing such details relating
to their description, quality, quantity, mode of packing, marks,
numbers or such other identifying particulars of the narcotic
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drugs or psychotropic substances or the packing in which they
are packed, country of origin and other particulars as the officer
referred to in sub-section (1) may consider relevant to the
identity of the narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances in any
proceedings under this Act and make an application, to any
Magistrate for the purpose of—
(a)certifying the correctness of the inventory so prepared;
or
(b) taking, in the presence of such Magistrate, photographs
of such drugs, substances or conveyances and certifying
such photographs as true; or
(c) allowing to draw representative samples of such drugs
or substances, in the presence of such Magistrate and
certifying the correctness of any list of samples so drawn.
(3)Where an application is made under sub-section (2), the
Magistrate shall, as soon as may be, allow the application.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence
Act, 1872 (1 of 1872) or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(2 of 1974), every court trying an offence under this Act, shall
treat the inventory, the photographs of narcotic drugs,
psychotropic substances, controlled substances or conveyances
and any list of samples drawn under subsection (2) and certified
by the Magistrate, as primary evidence in respect of such
offence.
(11) It would be appropriate to refer to S.63 NDPS Act which
would read as under:
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63. Procedure in making confiscations.—
(1) In the trial of offences under this Act, whether the accused is
convicted or acquitted or discharged, the court shall decide
whether any article or thing seized under this Act is liable to
confiscation under section 60 or section 61 or section 62 and, if
it decides that the article is so liable, it may order confiscation
accordingly.
(2) Where any article or thing seized under this Act appears to be
liable to confiscation under section 60 or section 61 or section
62, but the person who committed the offence in connection
therewith is not known or cannot be found, the court may inquire
into and decide such liability, and may order confiscation
accordingly:
Provided that no order of confiscation of an article or thing
shall be made until the expiry of one month from the date of
seizure, or without hearing any person who may claim any right
thereto and the evidence, if any, which he produces in respect of
his claim:
Provided further that if any such article or thing, other than
a narcotic drug, psychotropic substance, controlled substance,
the opium poppy, coca plant or cannabis plant is liable to speedy
and natural decay, or if the court is of opinion that its sale would
be for the benefit of its owner, it may at any time direct it to be
sold; and the provisions of this sub-section shall, as nearly as
may be practicable, apply to the net proceeds of the sale.
(12) Explaining the interplay of S.52A and S.63 NDPS Act, the
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Hon'ble Supreme Court, in R.Manimaran V State of Tamil Nadu
(2026 INSC 946) , has recently held as under:
‘ 11 . We are in full agreement with the view taken in
Biswajit Dey since sub-section (1) of Section 63 provides
that whether the accused is convicted or acquitted or
discharged, the Court shall decide whether any article or
thing seized under this Act is liable to confiscation under
Section 60 or Section 61 or Section 62 and that if it
decides that the article is so liable, order of confiscation
may be passed. Section 60 makes liable, inter alia the
conveyance; in which the offensive substance is carried, to
confiscation. Sub- section (3) provides an exception
insofar as the owner proving the use; without his
knowledge and connivance and he having made
reasonable precautions against such use. In fact, the statute
by Section 63(1), specifically provides for confiscation by
the Magistrate and not by the DDC. We have also looked
at the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal)
Rules, 2022, which prescribes the manner in which the
seized contraband is to be classified, weighed and stored.
It also prescribes the manner in which sampling has to be
done in the presence of a Magistrate and speaks of
disposal too. Rule 16 specifically reads so:
“16. Items that can be disposed of. – Having
regard to the hazardous nature, vulnerability to theft,
substitution and constraints of proper storage space,
all narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances,
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controlled substances and conveyances, as soon as
may be after their seizure, shall be disposed of in the
manner determined under Section 52A of the Act.”
12 . We observe that a conveyance also can be
disposed of under the Rules of 2022, but the power to
confiscate being with the Court, it would not be proper for
the DDC to independently proceed against the vehicle and
dispose of that by sale or otherwise in auction, pending the
criminal proceedings, without proper orders from the
Court. As has been held in Biswajit Dey , there is no
specific bar under the NDPS Act that the Court cannot
invoke the general power under Sections 451 and 457 of
the CrPC for return of the seized vehicle pending final
decision of the criminal case. Hence to preserve the
statutory power, as conferred by Section 63(1) on the
Court, trying the offence under the NDPS Act and to
harmonize the Rules with the statute, it has to be held that
the rules can be made applicable only with the permission
of the Court.
13 . It cannot be forgotten that the vehicle kept in the
custody of the Police or the Court, during the pendency of
the trial, may deteriorate and become unusable in the long
run. It is hence the finding of this Court in Biswajit Dey
that the provisions of Sections 451 and 457 of the CrPC
(or the analogous provisions of the BNSS) can be invoked
even in NDPS cases.
…………….
…………….
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17 . The vehicle bearing registration number TN-57-
AQ- 2165 involved in CC No.75 of 2021, which ended in
an acquittal of all the accused, by the learned II Additional
District Court for EC and NDPS Act Cases, Pudukottai
shall be released to the appellant herein. If at all the
Additional District and Sessions Court has transmitted the
vehicle to the DDC, the vehicle shall be released forthwith
by the DDC to the appellant herein.’
(13) It is therefore clear that keeping a vehicle involved in an
offence, either in police station or in court, for a long time is not
warranted and that an application seeking the interim custody of the
vehicle needs to be dealt with judiciously and expeditiously even in
NDPS cases, regardless of the fact that the applicant is the accused in
the offence concerned.
(14) Resultantly, this court, having regard to the aforesaid
decision, holds that the revision petitioner is entitled to get the interim
custody of the vehicle in such terms as detailed hereunder, and this
point is answered, accordingly.
14. In the result,
(1) that the revision respondent, if the inventory process, or
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proceedings before the special court, as under S.52A NDPS Act is
pending, shall cause it to be completed within one month from the date
of this order,
(2) that this criminal revision petition filed by the revision
petitioner, after the completion of such inventory process, or the
proceedings before the special court, as under S.52A NDPS Act, shall
stand allowed, reversing the order dated 23.03.2026 of the special
court in Crl.MP.No.185/2026, and allowing the criminal miscellaneous
petition in Crl.MP.No.185/2026 on the file of the special court on the
conditions,
(i) that the revision petitioner shall execute a bond for a sum
of Rs.5,00,000/- with two sureties for the like sum each to
the satisfaction of the special court,
(ii) that the revision petitioner shall file into the special court
the photographs showing all the four sides of the vehicle
along with the original registration certificate, and
(iii) that the revision petitioner in view of the prayer of
‘interim custody’, shall execute an undertaking, in the form
of an affidavit, before the special court to the effect that he
shall produce the vehicle, as it is , before the court as and
when directed,
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(3) that the Drugs Disposal Committee (DDC) concerned is
hereby directed to forward the vehicle concerned to the special court
immediately after the completion of such inventory process, or the
proceedings before the special court, as under S.52A NDPS Act,
(4) that the special court is hereby directed to hand over the
vehicle concerned to the revision petitioner only after the compliance
by the revision petitioner of the aforesaid conditions, and
(5) that the parties shall act on the web copy of this order,
without waiting for the certified copy thereof.
30.10.2026
Index : Yes / No
Neutral Citation : Yes / No
gns
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CRL.RC(MD)No.615 of 2026
To
1.The Additional Sessions Judge/Presiding Officer,
Special Court for EC and NDPS Act Cases,
Pudukkottai
2.The Inspector Of Police,
Ramanathapuram Town Police Station,
Ramanathapuram District.
3.The Additional Public Prosecutor,
Madurai Bench of Madras High Court,
Madurai.
4.TheChairman/Deputy Inspector General of Police,
Drugs Disposal Committee,
Trichy Range, Trichy.
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CRL.RC(MD)No.615 of 2026
B.MURUGESAN, J.
gns
Order made in
CRL.RC.(MD)No.615 of 2026
30.10.2026
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