(1.) This petition is filed under Section 482, Cr. P.C. praying for a direction to the respondent to remove the seal and locks and to handover the keys of the petitioners building premises at Door No. 109, Prince Hall Mount Road, Coonoor, Nilgiris District to the petitioner.
(2.) Mr. Karpagavinayagam, the learned counsel for the petitioner, would submit that the petitioner is the owner of the building and he had let it out to the Aditya Finance and that a complaint was given against one of the directors in 1987, alleging that he had employed several persons, after getting a deposit of Rs. 10,000/- each but he had neither paid any salary to any of them nor returned the said deposit and on that complaint, the case was registered for the offence under Sections 419 and 420, I.P.C. on 6.7.1987. The learned counsel would further submit that on 31.7.1987, on orders from the Court, in the presence of the petitioner, seizures were made in the premises and the building was locked and sealed and since then the petitioner was deprived of possession of his building, which was let out only for a period of 11 months. The petitioners counsel would further submit that charge sheet has also been filed in 1992 for the offence under Section 408, I.P.C. and in the circumstances, a direction may be given, as he had prayed for. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor Mr. Ragupathy would submit that appropriate direction may be given.
(3.) Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner and also the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, the petition is ordered as follows: The Petitioner shall move the Judicial Magistrates Court, Kothagiri for handing over the key of the building to him and on such petition: the learned Judicial Magistrate Kothagiri, is directed to appoint an Advocate-Commissioner and handover the key to the Advocate-Commissioner. The Advocate-Commissioner shall open the lock of the building and after taking inventor, of the articles kept within the premises, hand over the key to the petitioner. The learned Magistrate shall pass appropriate orders with regard to the articles kept within the building within a period of 2 months. Till that date, either the respondents or the petitioner shall keep the articles in their custody as per order of the learned Magistrate. The remuneration of the Advocate-Commissioner shall be paid by the petitioner. This petition is ordered accordingly. Petition disposed of accordingly.