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Nevada Properties Pvt. Ltd. through its Directors v. State of Maharashtra & Anr.

Criminal Appeal · 2019 INSC 1077Decided 24 Sept 2019
Criminal Appeal No. 1481 of 2019
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi · Justice Deepak Gupta · Justice Sanjiv Khanna

Background

This judgment answers a question referred to a larger bench; it does not decide the individual appeals. The question was whether the words "any property" in Section 102 CrPC, which lets a police officer seize property linked to an offence, include immovable property.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final judgment in the individual appeals. The three-judge bench held that the power of seizure under Section 102(1) CrPC is limited to movable property and does not extend to land, plots or houses. It directed the Registry to list the individual appeals before the appropriate bench.

Lesson Learnt

The police cannot seize land or buildings under Section 102 CrPC; that power covers only movable property.

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

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