JUDGMENT

1. Heard Mr. W. Darakishwor, learned senior panel counsel appearing for the petitioner and Mr. Ch. Ngongo, learned counsel appearing for the respondents.

The present criminal revision petition has been filed under Section 397 Cr.P.C. with a prayer for setting aside the impugned Zima order dated 26.02.2021 passed by the learned Special Judge (P.C. Act), Imphal East in Cril. Misc. (Zima) Case No. 2 of 2021 and Cril. Misc. Case No. 9 of 2021.

2. The facts of the present case in a nutshell is that the petitioner (CBI) registered a case being FIR No. R.C. 1A/2020/CBI/ACB/Imphal U/S 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (b) of P.C. Act 1988 (as amended in 2018) against the present respondent No. 1 for alleged possession of pecuniary resources or properties disproportionate to his known source of income. Immediately after registration of the said FIR, the Officials of the CBI conducted a search operation at the residential premises of the respondent No. 1 on 31.01.2020 and seize a large number of documents and articles by preparing a search-cum-seizure memo dated 31.01.2020 and the seized articles were kept in the custody of the CBI.

3. The respondents No. 1 & 2, who are husband and wife, filed an application under Section 457 Cr.P.C. before the learned Special Judge (P.C. Act), Imphal East, praying for granting to them interim custody of the seized documents, money and gold ornaments on Zima and the said application was registered as Cril. Misc. (Zima) Case No. 2 of 2021. The present petitioner (CBI) also filed an application for allowing them to deposit the seized money in the current account of S.P., CBI and the said application was registered as Cril. Misc. Case No. 9 of 2021. Both the aforesaid applications was jointly heard by the learned Special Judge (P.C Act), Imphal East and the same were disposed of by a common order dated 26.02.2021 by allowing the prayer of the present respondents for releasing the aforesaid seized documents and articles on Zima in their favour subject to the conditions mentioned in the order and at the same time dismissing the application filed by the CBI for depositing the seized money in the Bank Account of the S.P., CBI. Feeling aggrieved, the present petitioner (CBI) filed the present Criminal Revision Petition assailing the Zima order dated 26.02.2021 passed by the learned Special Judge (P.C. Act), Imphal West.

4. At the outset, Mr. Ch. Ngongo, learned counsel appearing for the respondents raised a preliminary issue regarding the maintainability of the present revision petition on the ground that the CBI seized or confiscated the documents and articles including money and gold ornaments from the respondent No. 1 illegally without following due process of law provided under Section 18 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as P.C. Act for short) read with Section 3 and 4 of the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance 1944 (hereinafter referred to as Cril. Ordinance for short) and as such, the CBI has no locus standi to object to the Zima application filed by the respondents or to file the present revision petition challenging the impugned Zima order passed by the learned Special Judge (P.C. Act), Imphal East. The counsel for the respondents draw the attention of this Court to the provisions of Section 18 A of the P.C. Act and Section 3, 4 and Para 4-A of the Schedule to the Cril. Ordinance which reads as under:

Section 18 A of the P.C. Act, 1988:

'18A. Provision of Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944 to apply to attachment under this Act.-(1) Save as otherwise provided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003), the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944 (Ord. 38 of 1944) shall, as far as many be, apply to the attachment, administration of attached property and execution of order of attachment or confiscation of money or property procured by means of an offence under this Act.

(2) For the purpose of this Act, the provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment