The court emphasized the need for proper protection of seized materials containing incriminating evidence to prevent misuse.

P.S. TEJI, J.

1. The present petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.), has been preferred by the petitioner seeking setting aside of the order dated 6th November, 2013 passed by the learned Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Court, New Delhi and further seeking a direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation to supply a copy of all such documents relied upon by the prosecution in the case arising out of FIR RC No.6/2007/EOU-IX, New Delhi registered under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 & Sections 63 & 63-B read with Sections 14(b)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957.

2. A thumbnail sketch of the facts of the case is that the petitioner was an employee of the complainant company i.e. M/s Unistal Systems Pvt. Ltd. during the year 2003 to April, 2005. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the complainant company entered into an agreement with the petitioner whereby the petitioner was entitled to use the products for writing a book on data recovery and for this purpose, the complainant company had financed the petitioner. The complainant company also permitted the petitioner to distribute free of cost the said product along with the book. Learned counsel for the petitioner has further submitted that the petitioner is the Director of M/s Prodata Doctor Private Limited, a company incorporated under the Companies Act and came into being in September, 2005 having its registered office in Ghaziabad, U.P. The said company is engaged in the business of data recovery and developing software applications for computers. The other business works that the petitioner’s company has undertaken, are consultancy, training, teaching, data recovery, website promotion, SIM card recovery, non-forensic investigation etc.

3. An FIR was registered by the CBI on 23rd July, 2007 on the complaint of one Shri Alok Gupta, Director of M/s Unistal Systems Pvt. Ltd. in which it was alleged that the petitioner was one of its employees and thereafter he left the said company and started his own business. It was further alleged by the complainant in the FIR that on or around 11th March, 2005, the petitioner had stolen the sourse codes of a software known as “Quick Recovery” developed by the complainant company and thereafter put it up for sale on the website of the company of the petitioner under the name “Prodatadoctor”. A complaint was lodged in Police Station Nehru Place on 19th March, 2005 regarding theft of source code and subsequent thereto, an undertaking was obtained from all the employees to the effect that they have not stolen the same. Learned counsel for the petitioner has added that the complainant did not suspect the petitioner at that time and after a lapse of two and a half year, the said complaint was filed with the CBI. It is contended by learned counsel for the petitioner that the story set up by the complainant does not hold water inasmuch as it is the complainant’s own case that the petitioner attended office till the end of April, 2005 and the salary was paid till May, 2005.

4. It is next submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that on 3rd August, 2007, the CBI had conducted seizures of certain documents from the office/residential premises of the petitioner. It is alleged that the seizures conducted under Section 165 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was without following the procedure prescribed therein and in the said seizure, the CBI had seized various hard disks and CDs and other materials of the petitioner’s company. On 17th January, 2008, the petitioner preferred an application seeking release of the seized property.

5. It is further alleged by learned counsel for the petitioner that on 22nd January, 2008, the CBI seized the bank account of the petitioner without complying with the mandatory requirement of Section 102 of the Cr. P.C. It is submitted that the petitioner preferred an appeal against the said seizure. In the meanwhile, on or around 28th F