Property to be handed over only to the undisputed owner after trial is over

In CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 170 OF 2009, BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED vs  SURYANARAYANAN & ANR. before the Supreme Court, four accused were charged for theft of 10,285 kg of copper wires and 62 lead sleeves from a BSNL godown. The accused had allegedly sold the material to Surya Metals. In the year 1992, interim custody of the seized alloy moulds was handed over by the magistrate to the BSNL in pursuance of the provisions of Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

After the accused were acquitted in 1999, the proprietor of Surya Metals filed an application under Section 452 of the CrPC seeking release of the alloy moulds. The magistrate declined to grant custody of the seized material and relegated him to prove its title before a competent civil court. The Sessions Court, in appeal, held that it was for the proprietor to assert its title and prove it before the civil court.

These findings got reversed by the high court which held that though interim custody was handed over to the BSNL, it did not assert any right over the property, nor did it deny the right or title of the proprietor and thus there was no reason to relegate him to a civil court. The high court bench had relied on a decision of apex court in N. Madhavan vs. State of Kerala. BSNL assailed this order before the apex court.

The Supreme Court observed that in Madhavan case, there was no dispute that the weapon of offence belonged to the accused from whom it had been seized and ordinarily the person from whom the property was seized would be entitled to an order under Section 452, when there is no dispute or doubt that the property belongs to him. It is only when the property belongs to the person from whom it was seized that such an order can be passed. Where a claim is made before the court that the property does not belong to the person from whom it was seized, Section 452 does not mandate that its custody should be handed over to the person from whose possession it was seized, overriding the claim of genuine title which is asserted on behalf of a third party.

Finally the Court observed that the claim which has been made by the first respondent to the title to the goods is seriously in dispute. Hence it was but appropriate and proper that such a claim be agitated before the competent civil forum. The view of the Magistrate was correct. In the absence of such an adjudication, the custody of the goods, which have been seized, should continue to be with the appellant.