Gujarat HC Conditionally Releases Innova Seized Over Alleged Contraband, Bars Transfer Until Trial Ends

Police intercepted the petitioner’s Toyota Innova, allegedly carrying contraband without a pass or permit, and registered an FIR under the Gujarat Prohibition Act

The petitioner sought its release under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution and Section 497 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; the prosecution objected by reference to the Act’s confiscation provisions

The High Court considered that objection alongside authorities on interim custody of seized vehicles

Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution confer powers which may be exercised to order release of a seized vehicle

Section 497 of the BNSS, corresponding to Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, permits the court to make appropriate orders for the custody of property pending trial; as the Supreme Court held in M/s ABC Express v. State of Gujarat, Section 98(2) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act does not impose an absolute bar on interim release of a seized vehicle

Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat holds that seized vehicles should not be left deteriorating at police stations and may be released on suitable bonds, guarantees and security, subject to production when required

The Court also relied on the coordinate Bench decision in Musa Khan Jat v. State of Gujarat, which ordered release in an analogous case

The Court accepted that the Act’s confiscation provisions did not prevent interim release, relying on M/s ABC Express and the State’s acknowledgment that the Court could order release under Article 226

Applying Sunderbhai and the analogous decision in Musa Khan Jat, it concluded that continued retention of the vehicle was not necessary where safeguards could secure its availability for trial

It therefore ordered release subject to a solvent surety equivalent to the vehicle’s value stated in the FIR, an undertaking not to transfer it, and an obligation to produce it when directed

Before release, police were directed to photograph the vehicle and prepare a panchnama for inclusion with the charge-sheet papers

the order was also to be sent to the RTO, with transfer restrained until final disposal of the trial unless the Trial Court permitted otherwise