Gujarat HC Orders Interim Release Of Scorpio Seized In Liquor Case, Citing SC: Prohibition Act Section 98(2) Is No Absolute Bar To Release

The petitioner sought release of his Mahindra Scorpio, seized after police allegedly found its driver transporting liquor without a pass or permit. An FIR was registered at B-Division Police Station, Kachchh at East Gandhidham, for offences under the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

The petitioner invoked Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution and Section 497 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, relying on Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat. The State objected by reference to the Act’s confiscation provisions but accepted that the Court could order release under Article 226.

Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution empower the High Court to order release of seized property in an appropriate case; Section 497 of the BNSS concerns interim custody of property.

In Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat, AIR 2003 SC 638, the Supreme Court held that seized vehicles should not be left to deteriorate and may be released subject to appropriate bonds, guarantees, and security for their production.

The Court also relied on Musa Khan Jat v. State of Gujarat, SCR.A/7190/2017, where a vehicle was released under Articles 226 and 227, and M/s ABC Express v. State of Gujarat, 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 885, which held that Section 98(2) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949, is not an absolute bar to interim release of a seized vehicle and that the court may make appropriate custody orders.

Applying these authorities, the Court concluded that the Prohibition Act’s confiscation provisions did not preclude interim release of the Scorpio. The State did not dispute the High Court’s power to order release, and the cited Supreme Court authority supported preserving the vehicle from deterioration while securing its availability for trial.

The Court therefore ordered release subject to a solvent surety equivalent to the vehicle’s price as stated in the FIR, an undertaking not to transfer it pending trial, and an obligation to produce it when directed; it also directed police to photograph the vehicle and prepare a panchnama before release.

The police were directed to photograph the vehicle and prepare a panchnama, and the order was to be sent to the relevant RTO to record the restraint on transfer pending trial, subject to any contrary order of the Trial Court. Rule was made absolute.