Sri Varalakshmi vs. The State Of Ap
Held
The High Court held that the learned Magistrate erred in dismissing the petitioner's application for interim custody of the seized Gutka packets. The Court found that the Magistrate failed to follow the binding precedents of the Supreme Court in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat and General Insurance Council & others v. State of Andhra Pradesh & others. These judgments direct the disposal of seized property within one month of its production before the Magistrate. The High Court observed that the Magistrate's order was passed without adhering to these guidelines. Consequently, the impugned order of the Magistrate was set aside. The Court directed the learned Magistrate to reconsider the petition and pass appropriate orders within one week, strictly following the guidelines laid down in the aforementioned Supreme Court judgments.
Facts
The petitioner filed a Criminal Petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, challenging an order dated 28.07.2018 passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Madugula. The petitioner had sought interim custody of 66 bags of Gutka packets seized by the police in connection with Crime No.84 of 2018. The seizure was made for alleged offences under Section 273 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 5 read with 22 of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition Of advertisement and Regulation Of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA, 2003). The petitioner claimed to be a businessman in Odisha with a GST license, transporting the stock to a licensed vendor, and asserted ownership of the seized goods. The Magistrate dismissed the petition for interim custody.
Key Issues
1. Whether the learned Magistrate erred in dismissing the petitioner's application for interim custody of the seized Gutka packets, contrary to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court? The petitioner argued that the Magistrate failed to follow the Supreme Court's judgments in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat and General Insurance Council & others v. State of Andhra Pradesh & others, which mandate the disposal of seized property within one month of its production before the Magistrate. The petitioner contended that the Magistrate's order was passed without adhering to these established principles. The revenue or State's arguments are not recorded in the judgment.
Sections Cited
Section 482, Section 475, Section 273, Section 5, Section 22
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE M. SATYANARAYANA MURTHY
CRIMINAL PETITION No.9572 OF 2018 ORDER:
The present Criminal Petition is filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short ‘Code’) questioning the order, dated 28.07.2018, passed in Crl.M.P. No.115 of 2018 in Crime No.84 of 2018, by the learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Madugula.
The petitioner filed a petition under Section 475 of the Code for grant of interim custody of 66 bags of Gutka Packets containing a label in English Letters i.e., PREM RAJA, which were seized by the Station House Officer V. Madugula in connection with Crime No.84 of 2018 registered for the offences punishable under Section 273 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’) and Section 5 read with 22 of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition Of advertisement and Regulation Of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (for short ‘COTPA, 2003’), contending that he is carrying on business in the State of Odisha and obtained license from the concerned authorities with GST, and he was sending the stock to the licensed vendor at Berhampur, and he did
The judgment continues below.
Read the full judgment
A free account opens 10 full GST judgments a month (one account works on both bharattax.net and this site). Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.
The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.
Reproduced from the public record of the Telangana High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.