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Abdul Vahab vs. State of Madhya Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · 2022 INSC 263Decided 4 Mar 2022
Criminal Appeal No. 340 of 2022
K.M. Joseph · Hrishikesh Roy

Background

The appellant's truck, carrying 17 cattle, was intercepted and the driver and another person were arrested and prosecuted under the M.P. Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 2004 and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The trial court acquitted all the accused, finding no evidence the cattle were being taken for slaughter, in fact a veterinary doctor testified the animals were healthy and fit for agricultural use. Despite this acquittal, the District Magistrate still ordered the truck confiscated, and this was upheld all the way up to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which held it lacked jurisdiction to interfere in confiscation matters.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court was wrong to think it had no power under Section 482 CrPC to examine the confiscation order, because, unlike certain forest-law statutes, the 2004 Cow Slaughter Act contains no clause barring the criminal courts' jurisdiction. The Court explained that while confiscation proceedings are technically independent of a criminal trial, an order of confiscation is not automatic and must factor in the outcome of any related criminal case; here, the accused's acquittal (for lack of evidence of intended slaughter) should have been considered by the District Magistrate. Continuing to confiscate the truck after a clean acquittal, with no ongoing risk of misuse, amounted to arbitrarily depriving the owner of his property in violation of Article 300A of the Constitution, which guarantees that no person can be deprived of property except by lawful authority. The confiscation order was therefore quashed and the truck ordered released.

Lesson Learnt

A vehicle or property seized in connection with a criminal case cannot simply be kept confiscated forever once the accused has been acquitted for lack of evidence: authorities must weigh the criminal court's findings before finalising confiscation, and citizens have a constitutional right against arbitrary deprivation of property.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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