Police cannot seize immovable properties
(reproduced from Times of India, Mumbai edition of 30-11-2010, page no. 05)
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Monday ruled that the police did not have the power to attach immovable properties of a person. Under Section 102 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), they can seize only certain properties that may alleged be or suspected to be stolen.
The 173-page judgment stated, “By definition of theft, an immovable property cannot be ‘stolen’. As to ‘finding’ it under circumstances that raise suspicion of the commission of the offence, it is difficult to conceive how an immovable property itself could give rise to such a suspicion.” The judgment was passed with a majority of 2:1, with Justice R C Chavan and Justice Roshan Dalvi disagreeing with Justice B H Marlapalle who said the police did have the power to seize an immovable property.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by a developer from Pune, Sudhir Karnataki (51), who sought the release of his property seized by the police following an from the commissioner of police in 2009. The order was passed based on a compliant lodged by a professor, Yeshwant Vasudeo Natu (63). “The matter was referred to the three-judge bench after two conflicting judgments of the HC were pointed out while hearing Karnataki’s petition,” said his advocate Kunal Cheema.
