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C. Shanmugavel v. Eswari

Criminal Appeal · 2019 INSC 98Decided 28 Jan 2019
Criminal Appeal Nos. 164-165 of 2019
Justice R. Banumathi · Justice R. Subhash Reddy

Background

Nachiappan, who operated a commercial four-wheeler vehicle, was murdered in September 2017, and a murder case was registered. The vehicle was seized as case property. The appellant (the deceased's brother-in-law) and the first respondent Eswari (the deceased's widow) each sought custody of the vehicle at different stages before the trial court, with custody shifting between them through a series of orders, and the appellant had deposited Rs. 5,00,000 before the Magistrate pursuant to an interim Supreme Court direction.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court noted that although the appeals were filed in November 2018, the appellant failed to disclose a later order of the Judicial Magistrate (17 September 2018) that had already handed the vehicle's custody back to the widow, and that this order had since been complied with. The Court held the Magistrate was right to restore the vehicle's custody to Eswari as the widow of the deceased registered owner. The appeals were dismissed, with directions that the vehicle's custody be confirmed with the widow and that the Rs. 5,00,000 deposited by the appellant be refunded to him.

Lesson Learnt

In disputes over custody of property seized in a criminal case, courts tend to favour the legal heir of the deceased owner, and a party who conceals material later developments from the court undermines the credibility of their own case.

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

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