USHABH BHANDARI Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Instant criminal misc. petition has been filed by the petitioner against the order dtd. 31/7/2019, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khairwada, District Udaipur in Criminal Revision No.3/2019 (CIS No.3/2019) by which he dismissed the revision petition filed by the petitioner and upheld the order dtd. 26/4/2019, passed by learned Judicial Magistrate, Khairwada, District Udaipur in Complaint No.1/2018 of Police Station Khairwada, District Udaipur by which the seized currency was refused to be handed over to the petitioner.

(2.) Succinctly stated, the facts of the case are that a sum of Rs.47,00,000.00, which was being carried by one Sh. Vasudeo Chaubisa, an employee of the Firm of the petitioner, was seized by the Police, being a suspected property, near Khairwada Toll Plaza on 9/10/2018 under Sec. 102 Cr.P.C. An application for release of the said amount was filed by the petitioner before the learned Judicial Magistrate, Khairwada, District Udaipur stating that the said amount belongs to him and the same has been disclosed in the income tax returns submitted till the month of October, 2018. The learned Judicial Magistrate rejected the petitioner's application vide order dtd. 26/4/2019. Being aggrieved, the petitioner preferred a revision before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khairwada, who also dismissed the revision vide order dtd. 31/7/2019 and affirmed the order dtd. 26/4/2019 passed by learned Judicial Magistrate refusing to hand over the seized currency of Rs.47.00 lacs to the petitioner. Hence this misc. petition before this Court.

(3.) Counsel for the petitioner submits that Sec. 102 Cr.P.C. authorizes a Police officer to seize any property, which may be alleged or suspected to have been stolen or which may, found under circumstances, create a suspicion of commission of any offence. In the present case, the currency of Rs.47.00 lacs was certainly seized by the Police from Sh. Vasudeo Chaubisa, employee of the petitioner, who at the time of seizure made a specific disclosure about the source of said currency of Rs.47.00 lacs. Since, the Police after having recovered currency of Rs.47.00 lacs under Sec. 102 Cr.P.C., forwarded the report, as mandatorily required by virtue of sub-sec. (3) of Sec. 102 Cr.P.C. to the concerned Magistrate (i.e. Judicial Magistrate, Khairwada), where the petitioner filed an application for handing him over the currency, inasmuch as the same was not claimed by anyone else and also that satisfactory explanation about the currency being possessed by Vasudeo Chaubisa was disclosed. Thus, the learned courts below have committed error in refusing to hand over the seized currency to the petitioner by the impugned orders.