N. VANJIMUTHU Vs. COMPETENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner challenges the orders passed by the first and second respondent respectively which led to the sealing of the hotel premises, which was under his occupation, namely Hotel Swagath (Hotel Senthil Residency) situated at Adiyavithu Village, Dindigul East Taluk and for a consequential direction to the respondents to remove the seal and handover possession of the hotel premises to him pending disposal of I.A. No. 3 of 2016 in of 2011 on the file of Special Court under TNPID Act, Madurai.

(2.) The brief facts of the case which are germane and necessary for disposal of this writ petition are as follows:-

(3.) When the writ petition was taken up for admission on 29/2/2016, this Court, while ordering notice to the respondents, granted interim stay of operation of the impugned orders on condition that the petitioner shall deposit a sum of Rs.22,00,000.00 to the credit of of 2011 on the file of TNPID Court and on such deposit, the respondents 1 and 2 shall remove the seal and handover the possession of the premises in question. In the order dtd. 29/2/2016, this Court further directed the petitioner to deposit a sum of Rs.50,000.00 per month for three months pending further orders to be passed in the writ petition. While passing the order dtd. 29/2/2016, this Court has taken note of the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court in (Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai vs. State of Gujarat) reported in (2002) 10 scc 283 wherein it was held by the Honourable Supreme Court that no useful purpose will be achieved by keeping the seized articles in the police custody without being utilised.