( 1 ) THE respondent herein B. G. Shivananda is. said to be the registered owner of an Ambassador Car bearing No. MYQ 8646. On 4-5-1977 at about 3 A. M. , Thyamagondlu Police seized the said car presumably acting under sub-sec (1) of S. 62 of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963 (hereinafter called the Act), on the ground that it was being used for committing offences under Sec. 379 IPC read with Sec. 86 of the Act, and registered a case in Crime No. 26 77 and reported the fact of seizure to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bangalore Dist, presumably acting under sub-sec (3) of S. 62 of the Act. Thereupon the respondent. on 10-5-1977 filed an application under Sec. 451 of the Crlpc 1973, before the said magistrate requesting him to- release the car and hand it over to him. The APP however resisted that application and inter alia contended that the Magistrate has no jurisdiction to make the order sought for and that in -view of the provisions of S. 71a of the Act (inserted by the Karnataka Forest (Second Amendment) Act 1976), it is the authorised officer referred to therein who can make an order of that kind; the argument submitted in support of that contention was that Section 71a of the A

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