Supreme Court: Registration certificate alone not sole factor for interim release of seized vehicles

The case concerns a dispute between an appellant (director of M/s Pure Minerals) and the State of Andhra Pradesh/respondent company (M/s Earth Stein Private Limited) regarding who is entitled to interim custody of seized vehicles (one Bolero City Pick-up, 3 Excavators, and one Ashok Leyland Tipper) pending the resolution of criminal cases.

Appellant: Krishnan Narayana; Respondents: State of Andhra Pradesh and M/s Earth Stein Private Limited; Bench: Justice Augustine George Masih.

• The Court framed the issue as determining who is entitled to interim custody of the subject vehicles under Sections 451 and 457 of the CrPC.
• The Court noted that Sections 451 and 457 CrPC vest the Court with the discretion to grant custody to whom it deems fit, emphasizing that the Court does not adjudicate title but grants interim possession to prevent decay or diminution in value.
• The Court cited precedents (N. Madhavan v. State of Kerala and Sunder Bhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat) stating that the exercise of this discretion must be judicial, reasonable, and just, considering the nature of the property and material on record.

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document