The Drug Disposal Committee referral under the 2022 Rules does not preclude a Court from exercising its judicial power to grant interim custody of seized vehicles under BNSS, as superior judicial authority and the necessity to prevent vehicle decay take precedence over administrative disposal procedures.

ORDER

This Criminal Revision Petition is directed against the order dated 04.08.2025 passed in Crl.M.P.No.2776 of 2025 by the learned Principal Special Judge for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act Cases, Madurai, whereby the petition filed by the present petitioner, seeking interim custody of his two wheeler, namely Splendor Plus bearing Registration No.TN-58-BK-1072, seized in connection with Crime No.893 of 2024 on the file of PEW Madurai Police Station, came to be dismissed.

Case of the Prosecution:

2. The prosecution case, as could be gathered from the materials relating to Crime No.893 of 2024 on the file of PEW Madurai Police Station, is that a case has been registered against the petitioner and others for offences under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(B), 25 and 29(1) of the NDPS Act. The petitioner has been arrayed as Accused No.3. It is the specific allegation of the prosecution that the petitioner, along with the co-accused, was engaged in selling ganja and that in the course of such illegal activity, the two wheeler Splendor Plus bearing Registration No.TN-58-BK-1072 was used as a conveyance to transport and effect sale of the contraband. It is stated that the said vehicle was seized by the respondent police during the investigation.

3. The respondent further contends that the seized vehicle was, in due course, forwarded to the Drug Disposal Committee under Form–4 and Form–5 as contemplated by the NDPS (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022 and is now under the process / consideration of disposal in accordance with those Rules. According to the prosecution, if the Splendor Plus motorcycle is returned to the petitioner on interim custody, there is a real and imminent possibility that he may abscond to another State along with the vehicle or sell the vehicle, thereby frustrating any future order of confiscation and hampering the effective conduct of the prosecution. On this basis, the prosecution has strongly objected to restoration of the vehicle to the petitioner.

Case of the petitioner:

4. The petitioner, on the other hand, asserts that he is the absolute and registered owner of the Splendor Plus motorcycle bearing Registration No.TN-58-BK-1072 and that the said vehicle is a crucial movable asset for his daily mobility and livelihood. He contends that, although the vehicle has been seized in connection with the above crime, he is nonetheless entitled to seek its interim custody in exercise of the Court’s powers under Sections 497 and 503 of the BNSS, 2023. It is the petitioner’s grievance that ever since its seizure, the motorcycle has been lying idle in the police station or in an open yard, exposed to sun, rain, and other natural elements. He asserts that by reason of such prolonged idle exposure, the vehicle is suffering rapid natural deterioration, both mechanically and in terms of market value, and that if it is not released to him for proper use and maintenance, it will soon become unfit for road use, causing him irreparable financial loss.

5. The petitioner specifically contends that the mere fact that the vehicle has been forwarded to the Drug Disposal Committee in terms of the 2022 Rules does not extinguish or curtail the jurisdiction of the criminal Court to grant interim c