Gujarat HC Orders Interim Release Of Seized Eicher Truck, Applying SC Ruling That Gujarat Prohibition Act Does Not Automatically Bar Release

The petitioner sought interim release of an Eicher PRO vehicle seized in connection with an FIR registered at Valsad Rural Police Station for an alleged offence under the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

Police had intercepted the vehicle on secret information and found it carrying contraband without a pass or permit.

The petitioner relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat and produced a finance company’s no-objection certificate to the vehicle’s release.

The State opposed release, citing the Act’s confiscation provisions, but accepted that the High Court could order release under Article 226.

Article 226 of the Constitution empowers the High Court to grant appropriate relief, while Article 227 provides supervisory jurisdiction; the petitioner also invoked Section 497 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, concerning custody of property pending trial.

In Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court held that seized vehicles should not be left to deteriorate at police stations and may be released on appropriate bonds, guarantees, and security, subject to their production when required.

The Court noted that M/s ABC Express v. State of Gujarat, 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 885, held that Section 98(2) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act does not create an absolute bar to interim release and that the court may order proper custody under Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, corresponding to Section 497 of the BNSS.

The Court also relied on the coordinate Bench’s decision in Musa Khan Jat v. State of Gujarat.

The Court applied the principle against prolonged storage of seized vehicles and the Supreme Court’s clarification that Section 98(2) is not an absolute embargo on interim release.

The vehicle’s seizure in a prohibition prosecution therefore did not, by itself, preclude release.

The Court allowed release subject to safeguards designed to secure the vehicle’s preservation, prevent its transfer, and ensure its availability for trial.

Before release, police must photograph the vehicle from all sides and prepare a panchnama at the petitioner’s cost, with both included in the charge-sheet papers.

A copy of the order was to be sent to the relevant RTO to record the restraint on transfer, subject to any later order of the trial court permitting transfer.