During the
investigation or enquiry of a case, police official usually seize the property
which is used for committing the offence or which is a part of the offence, for
producing in Court as evidence during the trail of the case. The property may
be a vehicle, currency, documents etc.
Generally, a trial of a
case takes time to be finalized, and due to said reason there is a provision in
the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 under which one can get possession of his
seized property temporarily.
Section 451 of
Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 deals with the power of the Court to dispose the
property during the trial, and states that:
“When any
property is produced before any Criminal Court during any inquiry or trial, the
Court may order as it thinks fit for the proper custody of such property
pending the conclusion of inquiry or trial, and if the property is subject to
speedy and natural decay, or if it is otherwise expedient so to do, the Court
may, after recording such evidence as it thinks necessary, order it to be sold
or otherwise disposed off”.
Under this section any
person can get the custody and possession of the property through the provision
of Superdari, which is based on the Surety bond.
What is Superdari?
Superdari means
disposal of property which is related to the offence, to the person who is
entitled to get it on surety bond provided that the said person will produce
that property whenever the Court required.
The provision of Superdari
states that the property is handed over to the person by the Court from whose
custody it was taken, unless there are any contrary claims.
Surety bond is
an undertaking by the owner of the property which is required to be produce in
the Court before granting the custody or possession of the released property.
However, if the property is
main reason of the dispute then the Court may order to bring the property
before the Court for some evidential purposes, even after granting the custody
of the property to its owner.
Hence, Superdari is the
disposal of property to the person who is authorized for its custody on
producing a surety bond that he may produce the property before the Court
whenever asked for it.
In the matter of Sundarbhai
Ambalal Desai Versus State of Gujarat, AIR 2003 SC 638, the Supreme Court of
India held that :-
Powers under Section 451
CrPc should be exercised expeditiously and judiciously, and where the property
which has been the subject matter of an offence is seized by the police, it
ought not to be retained in the custody of the Court or of the police for any
time longer than what is absolutely necessary.
It is necessary to take
bond and security from the owner or entitled person so as to make the person
accountable for the possession of the property in case the evidence is lost,
altered or destroyed
The documents presented by
the owner should be well attested and signed by the complainant, accused and
the person to whom the custody is being handed over.
What is Case Property?
Under Section 451, the word
Property means and includes:
👉Property
of any kind or document which is produced before the Court and which is under
custody of the Court.
👉Any
property regarding which an offence appears to have been committed or which
appears to have been used for the commission of any offence.
👉When such
property is involved in the commission of an offence, or is the subject matter
of an offence, the same is known as Case Property.
How to apply for getting
property released under Superdari?
In order to release the
property from the Court during the trial of the case, you can move an
application before the Court with the proof of ownership of the property which
was seized by the police during investigation and inquiry.
The Court may pass an order
for the release of the property or may impose certain conditions before passing
order for the release of the property, and to furnish an undertaking on a
non-judicial stamp paper, which is called Superdari Bond.
After accepting the said Superdari Bond, the Court will pass an order to release the property.
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