NDPS Act | Rajasthan High Court Allows Interim Release Of Seized Vehicle After Finding Owner Not Named As Accused

Rajasthan High Court granted relief to a petitioner whose car was seized by the police in relation to an NDPS case, after contraband was recovered from it, noting that the no involvement of the petitioner was found in the case during investigation, neither was he impleaded as an accused in the FIR.The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand relied upon the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Bishwajit Dey v. State of Assam, in which it was held that where no allegation was made in the charge-sheet against the owner of the vehicle or his agent like driver or cleaner, the vehicle should normally be released. It was the case of the petitioner that contraband was recovered from the vehicle post which it was seized. Petitioner was the registered owner of the vehicle, but had no concern with the alleged incident. He was not even implicated as an accused in the FIR. The application was filed by him, seeking interim release of the vehicle but it was rejected on the ground that the investigation was pending and the charge-sheet was not submitted. It was argued that the vehicle was lying at the police station and would get damaged if not released. After hearing the contentions, the Court took note of the fact that the involvement of the petitioner was not found to be proved during the investigation, neither he was implicated as an accused. The Court made a reference to the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling which held that in cases where the owner or his agent (driver or cleaner of vehicle) was the person from whom the contraband was recovered, the vehicle may not be released. However, where the contraband was recovered from a stolen vehicle or from a third-party occupant of the vehicle, it could be released. The Court stated that in the present case, the vehicle was with a third-party occupant when the contraband was recovered from it, and the petitioner was not an accused. Hence, he was entitled to interim release of the vehicle on certain conditions, as imposed. Accordingly, the petition was allowed. Title: Lokesh Kumar Meena v State of Rajasthan Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 427Click Here To Read/Download Order

NDPS Act | Rajasthan High Court Allows Interim Release Of Seized Vehicle After Finding Owner Not Named As Accused

Nupur Agrawal

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