Gujarat HC Orders Seized Bolero Released Pending Trial, Says Prohibition Act’s Confiscation Rule Is No Absolute Bar

The petitioner sought release of a Mahindra Bolero seized after police intercepted it on secret information and found it carrying contraband without a pass or permit.

An FIR was registered at Karjan Police Station for an offence 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, seeking interim custody of the vehicle.

The State opposed release by reference to the Act’s confiscation provisions, while acknowledging the High Court’s power to order release.

Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution empower the High Court to grant appropriate relief, and Section 497 of the BNSS provides for interim custody of property.

In Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court held that seized vehicles should not be left to deteriorate and may be handed over on suitable bonds, guarantees and security.

Relying on M/s ABC Express v. State of Gujarat, the Court stated that Section 98(2) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act does not impose an absolute bar on interim release of a seized vehicle, and that the court may make appropriate custody orders under the corresponding provision of the CrPC, now Section 497 of the BNSS.

The Court also referred to the coordinate Bench decision in Musa Khan Jat v. State of Gujarat, which ordered release in an analogous case under Articles 226 and 227.

The Court considered that the vehicle’s seizure in a prohibition case did not, by itself, prevent interim release.

The State’s confiscation objection was answered by the principle in M/s ABC Express that Section 98(2) is not an absolute embargo.

Applying Sunderbhai, the Court found it appropriate to avoid prolonged retention of the vehicle and ordered its release subject to a solvent surety equivalent to the vehicle’s price stated in the FIR, an undertaking not to transfer it pending trial, and an obligation to produce it when directed.

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

A copy of the order must be sent to the relevant RTO to record the restraint on transfer, subject to any later order of the Trial Court permitting transfer.