P. Saroja v. State of Tamil Nadu, represented by its Inspector of Police, Ambalikkai Police Station, Dindigul
2015-02-12
M.SATHYANARAYANAN
body2015
DigiLaw.ai
Judgment :- 1. Mr.P.Kandasamy, learned Government Advocate (Criminal side) accepts notice for the respondent. By consent, the main revision itself is taken up for final disposal at the time of admission. 2. The petitioner is the owner of the vehicle viz., TATA Indigo bearing Registration No.TN-38-BV-1125 and according to the petitioner, the deceased was the driver of the above said car and he was found murdered and in this regard, the respondent police has registered a case in Crime No.69 of 2014 on 23.05.2014 initially for the commission of the offence under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code and later on, altered to Sections 147, 148, 364, 396 and 302 of Indian Penal Code. The petitioner originally filed a petition for return of the said vehicle by way of interim custody and it was ordered, subject to conditions and one of the conditions is that she shall produce the vehicle once in a month before the Jurisdictional Magistrate Court. The petitioner has filed Cr.M.P.No.12078 of 2014 praying for modification of the said condition for the reason that she is a permanent resident of Coimbatore and every month, the car has to be driven from all the way to Coimbatore to the Jurisdictional Court and it is a tourist cab and, therefore, in the event of the said condition, her livelihood may be affected and hence, prays for modification of the same. The Trial Court declined to relax the condition and dismissed the said petition, vide order dated 13.01.2015 and aggrieved by the same, the revision has been filed. 3. The learned Government Advocate (Criminal side) appearing for the respondent would submit that all the accused have been fixed and the case is in advanced stage of investigation and if the condition is relaxed, there is every possibility that the petitioner may alienate the vehicle and since it is a case property likely to be marked as a material object, the said condition need not be relaxed. 4. The Court heard the rival submissions and also perused the materials placed before it. 5. The allegation is that the vehicle was hired and at the relevant point of time, the deceased was the driver and he was murdered and the vehicle was taken away and later on, it was found abandoned somewhere. No doubt, the vehicle is likely to be marked as a material object.
5. The allegation is that the vehicle was hired and at the relevant point of time, the deceased was the driver and he was murdered and the vehicle was taken away and later on, it was found abandoned somewhere. No doubt, the vehicle is likely to be marked as a material object. However, taking into consideration of the fact that it is a tourist cab and the petitioner is depending upon the operation of the said vehicle to earn her livelihood, this Court is of the view that the condition imposed that the vehicle shall be produced before the Jurisdictional Court once in a month requires modification. 6. In the result, the revision is allowed and the impugned order dated 13.01.2015 passed in Cr.M.P.No.12078 of 2014 in Cr.M.P.No.6436 of 2014 in Crime No.69 of 2014 on the file of the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Ottanchatram is set aside and the petitioner shall produce the vehicle bearing Registration No.TN-38-BV-1125 once in three months on the first working day before the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Ottanchatram at 10.30 a.m., until further orders. The other conditions shall stand unaltered. It is also made clear that the petitioner shall not alienate or further encumber the vehicle and if she requires any modification of the condition, it is open to her to approach the Jurisdictional Court.