IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE E.V.VENUGOPAL WRIT PETITION No.6909 of 2026 DATED : 06-03-2026 Between :

Avastharama Devi.

… Petitioner.

And The State of Telangana, represented by its Principal Secretary, Home Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad, Telangana and others.

… Respondents.

ORDER :

The present writ petition is filed by the petitioner under Article

226 of the Constitution of India, seeking the following relief :

“…to declare the action of respondents Nos.1 to 3 in illegally holding and retaining the vehicle Maruti Suzuki Swift bearing Registration No.TG 11 7399 without depositing or producing it before the concerned Magistrate as mandated under Section 105 of BNSS, 2023, is illegal, arbitrary, and violative of the petitioner's fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 21 and 300A of the Constitution of India, direct the respondents Nos.1 to 3 to forthwith release and hand over the vehicle Maruti Suzuki Swift bearing Registration No.TG 11 7399 to the petitioner, the legal owner, upon furnishing an undertaking or personal bond.…”

2. Heard Sri Md.Fasiuddin, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri M.Srinivas, learned Assistant Government Pleader, representing Sri Mahesh Raje, learned Government Pleader for Home.

3. The case of the petitioner, in brief, is that she is the registered owner of a Maruti Suzuki Swift vehicle bearing Registration No.TG 11 7399, which was lawfully purchased and financed through HDFC Bank Ltd., with the registration being valid up to 17.07.2039. On the basis of a complaint lodged by the 6th respondent, the police registered FIR No.1382 of 2025 at Rajendranagar Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, against respondent Nos.4 and 5. In connection with the said crime, respondent No.3 seized the petitioner’s vehicle, though the petitioner is neither an accused nor connected with the alleged offence. It is the contention of the petitioner that, after coming to know about the seizure, she approached the police authorities and produced the necessary documents to establish her ownership, requesting release of the vehicle. As the same was not considered, she filed a petition under Section 503 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 before the learned XI Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Rajendranagar, seeking interim custody of the vehicle. However, the police authorities have neither produced the vehicle before the Magistrate as required under Section 105 of BNSS, 2023, nor released it to the petitioner, and have continued to retain it without lawful authority.

(a) The petitioner further contends that due to the prolonged detention of the vehicle in the police station since December, 2025, the vehicle is being exposed to adverse weather conditions and is gradually deteriorating in value and condition, causing her financial loss, especially as she continues to pay EMIs to the financing bank. It is therefore her grievance that the action of the respondent authorities in retaining the vehicle without following the statutory procedure is illegal, arbitrary and violative of her constitutional rights. Hence, the present writ petition is filed seeking a direction to the respondents to release the vehicle to her, being the lawful owner, upon furnishing an appropriate undertaking or bond.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the continued retention of the vehicle by the police authorities is illegal and contrary to the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, as the seized vehicle was not produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate as required under Section 105 of BNSS. It is contended that the petitioner is the registered owner of the vehicle and is not implicated as an accused in the crime, and therefore there is no justification for retaining the vehicle in police custody. The learned counsel further submits that prolonged detention