Manoranjan Prasad, J.

This application by the petitioner, Chandra Shekhar Jha is directed against the order dated 3.3.1981, passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Nalanda at Bihar Sharif in Misc. Case No. 8 of 1981 rejecting the petitioner's prayer made in his petition dated 11.2.1981 for release of Bus No. B.H.N. 6665 which had been seized by the Police of Nalanda Police station on 3.2.1981 under the provisions of Section 129A of the Motor Vehicles Act 1939.

2. In order to appreciate the point involved in this Case certain facts need be stated. The petitioner had purchased the Bus in question after taking a loan from the Canara Bank, Bihar Sharif which he had to repay in certain instalments and in order to secure the repayment of the loan the petitioner had also hypothecated the Bus in question to the Bank under an agreement dated 28.8.1975. According to the Bank, the petitioner made default in payment of certain instalments on which by letter dated 17.11.1980 (Annexure E) the Manager of the Bank wrote to the Superintendent of Police, Bihar Sharif to seize the Bus and to keep it in his custody, and the Manager of the Bank repeated this request to the Superintendent of Police in his subsequent letter dated 3.12.1980 (Annexure F). Annexure 1 is a Station diary entry No. 48 dated 3.2.1981 made at Nalanda Police Station by its Officer-in-Charge from which it appears that in pursuance of the said request of the Manager of the Bank the Superintendent of Police had directed the seizure of the Bus and there upon the Officer-in-charge of Nalanda Police Station seized the Bus on 3.2.1981 under section 129A of the Motor Vehicles Act at Nalanda Mor while it was plying. On the ground that when the Bus was stopped the driver and the conductor of the Bus had fled away and the Khalasi of the Bus had not been able to show any paper concerning the Bus.

3. There upon the petitioner filed a petition dated 11.2.1981 (Annexure 2) in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Nalanda for the release of the Bus in his favour on the ground that he was the owner of the Bus and that it is properly registered in his name with valid certificate of fitness from 22.1.1981 to 21.1.1982 and he holds valid permanent stage carriage permit for the route Resaur to Chhabilapur via Bihar Sharif Rajgir for two up and two down trips valid from 12.8.1980 to 11.8.1983 and there was also proper tax token for the period 1.1.1981 to 31.3.1981 and the Bus was also properly insured for the period 30.8.1980 to 29.8.1981. The petitioner also showed all these papers to the police on 13.2.1981.

4. The aforesaid prayer of the petitioner was, however objected to by the Bank by means of a petition dated 13.2.1981 (Annexure 5) in which it was stated that the petitioner had entered into an agreement for purchase of the Bus and according to the terms of the agreement the petitioner holds the Bus under hypothecation to the Bank and he had agreed to repay the loan amount of Rs.84,250/- in thirty six monthly instalments of Rs.2,340/- commencing from 28.9.1975 but after making some payments the petitioner had become a defaulter and had failed to comply with the terms of the agreement with the Bank. The Bank, therefore, prayed for directing the Officer-in-charge of Nalanda police Station to deliver possession of the Bus to the Manager of the Bank. The Bank reiterated its aforesaid prayer by filing another petition dated 18.2.1981 (Exhibit 7).

5. The learned Magistrate disposed of the aforesaid petition dated 11.2.1981 filed by the petitioner and the two petitions dated 13.2.1981 and 18/2/1981 filed by the Bank by his impugned order dated 3.3.1981 by which he refused to deliver possession of the Bus to the petitioner and it is against the said order that the petitioner has filed the present revision application.

6. In a decision of this Court in the case of Ram Kripal Singh Yadav Vs. Ganga Prasad Yadav and others it has been held that when a motor vehicle is seized by the police and a