HC: Seized Vehicle Ordered to Be Released on Deposit as Prolonged Detention Serves No Purpose

The petitioner, owner of a Swift Dzire car bearing registration number BR-01-FV-2275, challenged the seizure of his vehicle by authorities in Chandauli district. The vehicle had been booked for travel to Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi, and was being driven by the petitioner’s son at the relevant time.

During return journey, the vehicle was intercepted and six boxes containing twelve bottles of liquor were allegedly recovered without valid documents, leading to seizure of the car. An application for release of the vehicle was rejected by the District Magistrate, Chandauli, and the subsequent revision before the Additional District Judge was also dismissed. Aggrieved, the petitioner approached the High Court seeking release of the seized vehicle.

Main Issue: Whether continued seizure of the vehicle was justified when prolonged detention would result in deterioration, pending adjudication of the underlying proceedings.

Decision: The Allahabad High Court held that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the seized vehicle detained for an indefinite period, as it would deteriorate with time. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations, the Court directed that the vehicle be released upon deposit of Rs. 2 lakhs before the competent authority within 15 days.

The Court clarified that the amount deposited would remain subject to the final outcome of the proceedings against the petitioner. Thus, the writ petition was disposed of with conditional release directions.

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