Confiscation of vehicles under the NDPS Act must follow the prescribed procedural safeguards; failure to provide a hearing renders the order illegal.

JUDGMENT :

Harpreet Singh Brar, J.

1. Present application has been filed under Section 60 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short ‘NDPS Act’), Section 498 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) read with Section 528 of BNSS for staying the confiscation of car bearing registration No. HR-25C-9870, Swift, white shade, which has already been released on superdari by learned trial Court.

FACTUAL MATRIX AND CONTENTIONS

2. Learned senior counsel for the applicant-appellant contends, inter alia, that in light of Section 51 of the NDPS Act, provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short ‘Cr.P.C.’) (now BNSS) shall apply to the seizure of any article or vehicle, provided they are not repugnant to the provisions of NDPS Act. It is argued that while the NDPS Act imposes a specific bar on the release of a seized vehicle, provisions of Sections 451 , 452, and 457 of Cr.P.C. are not inconsistent with the NDPS Act. Therefore, in view of the enabling provision contained in Section 51 of NDPS Act, these provisions must be applied to all cases of seizure and confiscation. Section 51 of NDPS Act reads as follows:

“51. Provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to apply to warrants, arrests, searches and seizures” - The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) shall apply, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, to all warrants issued and arrests, searches and seizures under this Act.”

3. Further, Sections 451 & 452 of Cr.P.C., which are relevant for the adjudication of this application, read as follows: -

“Section 451 - Order for custody and disposal of property pending trial in certain cases.

(i) When any property is produced before any Criminal Court during any inquiry or trial, the Court may make such order as it thinks fit for the proper custody of such property pending the conclusion of the inquiry or trial, and, if the property is subject to speedy and natural decay, or if it is otherwise expedient so to do, the Court may, after recording such evidence as it thinks necessary, order it to be sold or otherwise disposed of.

Explanation.--For the purposes of this section, “property” includes--

(a) property of any kind or document which is produced before the Court or which is in its custody;

(b) any property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed or which appears to have been used for the commission of any offence.

Section 452 - Order for disposal of property at conclusion of trial.

(1) When an inquiry or trial in any Criminal Court is concluded, the Court may make such order as it thinks fit for the disposal, by destruction, confiscation or delivery to any person claiming to be entitled to possession thereof or otherwise, of any property or document produced before it or in its custody, or regarding which any offence appears to have been committed, or which has been used for the commission of any offence.

(2) An order may be made under sub-section (1) for the delivery of any property to any person claiming to be entitled to the possession thereof, without any condition or on condition that he executes a bond, with or without securities, to the satisfaction of the Court, engaging to restore such property to the Court if the order made under sub-section (1) is modified