# ANWAR AHMAD v. STATE OF U.P

- **Citation:** [1976] 1 S.C.R. 779
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1975-09-12
- **Case number:** Criminal Revision No. 2475 of 1971
- **Bench:** V. R Krishna Iyer, S. Murtaza Fazal Ali
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/anwar-ahmad-v-state-of-u-p-6674
- **Pages:** 4

## Headnote

Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, Sectidns 514 and 523-Seizure of car
suspected to have been stolen-Police entrusting the car with the owner ood
getting personal bond exe'C'.uted .for Us production in court-Bond, if can be
forfeited.
The appellant bought a car from th• dealers on the basis of a hire-pun:hase
agreement. He rued a report before the police alleging that Ran Singh and
others had practised a fraud on hirg. and had taken away his car and had not
returned the same. On 3·12-1969. the police during the course of investigation recovered the car and handed it over to the appellant on SUihtrdnama on
his executing a personal bond whereby the appellant undertook to produce the
car in the cou1t whenever necessary, and in the caoo of failure to do so. he
bound himself to pay a penalty of Rs. 5000/-. By the time the matter came
to the Court, two years had elapsed and on 14-9-1971, the munsiff magistrate,
Meerut, called upon the appellant to produce the car, and as be was unable
to do so. a notice was issued under section 514 of the
Code of Criminal
Procedure for forfeiture of the bond.
After hearing the
appellant,
the
magistrate ordered the fotfe.fture of the bond and directed the appellant to
pay a penalty of Rs. 5000/-. He failed in his appeal and his revision petition
to the High Court was alsoi dismissed.
Allowing the appeal by special leave,
HELD : (i) A perusal of section 514 (I) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 clearly shows that a Qond for production of the property seized
by the police must be executed before the Court, although a bond for the
appearance of any pei:son before the Court can be taken by the police unde:rr
rection 170(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
This section also clearly
Cnjoins that a bond can be forfeited only if it is executed before a Court
or before a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class.
In the
present case, therefore, once th§ car was seized by the police, it was the
duty of the· police under section 523 to rePort the matter to the magistrate
and get an order from him regarding the custody of the car.
This was not
done.· Even the bond which was executed by the appellant, -was not before
the Court or the magistrate but before the J:)Olice officer, and in these cir ..
cumstances, therefore, the· aforesaid bond was not one as contemplated by
section 514 and, therefore, could not be forleited.
Rameshwar Bhartia v. The
State of Assam, A.I.R. 1952 S.C. 405, relied on.
[781-FH, 782-A]
(ii) Though the provisions ·of Regulation 165(ii) of the
Government of
Uttar Pradesh Police Regulations read with' sectiQn 423 of the Code undoubtedly
authorizes the police to seize the property and to make a summary order of
the custody of the property, neither section 523 nor rule 165 (ii) authorize
the police officer to take a ·bond from the person to whom the property iSentrusted.
[781-D-EJ
Observation : Even in the new Criminal Procedure Code,
there
is
no
express provision which empowers the police to get a bond from the person to
whom the property sei:red is entrusted.
This may lead to practical difficulties,
for instance in cases where a bulky property is seized and the magistrate is
living at a great dista,nce, it would be difficult for a police officer to report
to the magistrate with the property.
The Government will be well-advised
to make suitable amendments in the Code to fill up this serious lacuna by
giving power to the police for taking the.bond in such circumstances.
[782-E-FJ

## Text

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779
. ANWAR AHMAD
v.
STATE OF U.P.
September 12, 1975
[V. R KRISHNA IYER
AND S. MURTAZA FAZAL ALI, JJ.]
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, Sectidns 514 and 523-Seizure of car
suspected to have been stolen-Police entrusting the car with the owner ood
getting personal bond exe'C'.uted .for Us production in court-Bond, if can be
forfeited.
The appellant bought a car from th• dealers on the basis of a hire-pun:hase
agreement. He rued a report before the police alleging that Ran Singh and
others had practised a fraud on hirg. and had taken away his car and had not
returned the same. On 3·12-1969. the police during the course of investigation recovered the car and handed it over to the appellant on SUihtrdnama on
his executing a personal bond whereby the appellant undertook to produce the
car in the cou1t whenever necessary, and in the caoo of failure to do so. he
bound himself to pay a penalty of Rs. 5000/-. By the time the matter came
to the Court, two years had elapsed and on 14-9-1971, the munsiff magistrate,
Meerut, called upon the appellant to produce the car, and as be was unable
to do so. a notice was issued under section 514 of the
Code of Criminal
Procedure for forfeiture of the bond.
After hearing the
appellant,
the
magistrate ordered the fotfe.fture of the bond and directed the appellant to
pay a penalty of Rs. 5000/-. He failed in his appeal and his revision petition
to the High Court was alsoi dismissed.
Allowing the appeal by special leave,
HELD : (i) A perusal of section 514 (I) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 clearly shows that a Qond for production of the property seized
by the police must be executed before the Court, although a bond for the
appearance of any pei:son before the Court can be taken by the police unde:rr
rection 170(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
This section also clearly
Cnjoins that a bond can be forfeited only if it is executed before a Court
or before a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class.
In the
present case, therefore, once th§ car was seized by the police, it was the
duty of the· police under section 523 to rePort the matter to the magistrate
and get an order from him regarding the custody of the car.
This was not
done.· Even the bond which was executed by the appellant, -was not before
the Court or the magistrate but before the J:)Olice officer, and in these cir ..
cumstances, therefore, the· aforesaid bond was not one as contemplated by
section 514 and, therefore, could not be forleited.
Rameshwar Bhartia v. The
State of Assam, A.I.R. 1952 S.C. 405, relied on.
[781-FH, 782-A]
(ii) Though the provisions ·of Regulation 165(ii) of the
Government of
Uttar Pradesh Police Regulations read with' sectiQn 423 of the Code undoubtedly
authorizes the police to seize the property and to make a summary order of
the custody of the property, neither section 523 nor rule 165 (ii) authorize
the police officer to take a ·bond from the person to whom the property iSentrusted.
[781-D-EJ
Observation : Even in the new Criminal Procedure Code,
there
is
no
express provision which empowers the police to get a bond from the person to
whom the property sei:red is entrusted.
This may lead to practical difficulties,
for instance in cases where a bulky property is seized and the magistrate is
living at a great dista,nce, it would be difficult for a police officer to report
to the magistrate with the property.
The Government will be well-advised
to make suitable amendments in the Code to fill up this serious lacuna by
giving power to the police for taking the.bond in such circumstances.
[782-E-FJ
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 128
of 1975.
780
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1976] 1 s.c.R.
Appeal by Special Leave from the Jud~ent and Order dated the
22nd November, 1974 ofl the Allahabad High Court in Criminal
Revision No. 2475 of 1971.
K. e. Agarwala and M. M. L. Srivastava, for the appellant.
0. P. Rana, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
FAz;AL ALI J.
This appeal by special leave involves a short point
of law relating to the legal enforceability ·of a personal bond executed
by the appellant before the police for the production of the car belonging to him, which was alleged to have been stolen.
The facts
leading to the appeal fall .within a. very narrow compass.
The appellant appears to have bought a car No. USD 5317 from
the de.ilers on the basis of a hire-purchase agreement. . He filed a
report before the police alleging that Ran Singh and others had practised
a fraud on him and had taken away his car and had not returned the
same.
On 3-12-1969, the police during the course of investigation
recovered the car and handed it over to the appellant on supardnama
on his executing a personal bond whereby the appellant undertook to
produce the car in the court whenever necessary, and in the case of
failure to do so, he bound himself to pay a penalty of Rs. 5,000/-.
By the time the matter came to the Court, two years had elapsed and
on 14-9-1971, the munsiff magistrate,
Meerut, called
upon
the
appellant to produce the car, and as he was unable to do so, a notice
was issued under section 514 of the Code ofl Criminal Procedure for
forfeiture of the bond.
After hearing th,e appellant, the magistrate
ordered the forfeiture of the bond and directed the appellant to pay
a penalty of Rs. 5,000/--
The appellant went up in appeal to the .
learned Session Judge against the magistrate's order. But the appeal
was dismissed. The appellant met the same fate in revision whica was
preferred to the High Court. Hence, this appeal before us.
The short point taken by learned counsel for the appellant is that
·even accepting the prosecution case as it stands, the bond is not
legally enforceable under the Criminal Procedure Code, because it was
not executed before a court, but it was executed before a police officer.
It is not disputed bY counsel for the parties that as the occurrence
took place long before the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the present case will be covered by the Old Criminal Procedure Code, 1898.
The Criminal Procedure Code contains separate provisions for the
custody of property (1) during the course of investigation, (2) during
the course of enquiry and trial, and (3) after the accused is convicted
or acquitted. In the instant case, we are concerned, however, with the
case while it was under investigation. Section 523 of the Code runs
thus:-
"The seizure by any police officer of property taken under
section 51, or alleged or suspected to have been stolen, or
'found under circumstances which create suspicion of the
commission of any offence, shall be forthwith reported to a
Magistrate, who shall :make such order as he thinks fit resA
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ANWAR AHMAD v. U.P. STATE (Fazal Ali, J.)
7 81
peeling · the disposal of such property or the delivery of
such property to the person entitled to the possession thereof, or, if such person cannot be ascertained, respecting the
custody and production of such property."
It would thus appear from a perusal of this provision that the moment
a police officer seizes a property suspected to have been stolen or
which is the subject matter of an offence, he has to report the matter
to the m~strate concerned and it is for the magistrate to pass such
orders as he thinks fit regarding the disposal of the property.
The
learned counsel for the respondent, Mr. 0. P. Rana, has, however,
drawn our attention to Regulation 165 of the Government of Uttar
Pradesh Police Regulations in order to contend that this provision
conferred clear authority on the police officer to take possession of
the property seized and to give it on superdnama to any respectable
pe.rson. 165(ii) runs thus:
"(ii) Bulky property, other than livestock taken possession of under section 25 of the Police Act V of 1861, attached, distrained or seized under section 88, 387 or 523 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure shall ordinarily, pending the
orders of the Magistrate, be left at the place where it was
found in the charge of some land holder or other respectable person willing to undertake responsibility for its custody
and to produce it when required by the court."
It is true that this pr.ovision. read with section 423 undoubtedly authorizes the police to seize the property and to make a summary order
of the custody of the property, but neither section 523 nor rule 16S(ii)
authorize the police officer to take a bond from the person to whom
the property is entrusted.
The policy of the law appears to be that
the execution of the bond involves a civil liability and, therefore, it is
in the fitness of things that it should be executed before a court. Section
514 of the Code runs thus :-
"514(1) Whenever it is proved to the satisfaction of the
Court by which a bond under this Code has been taken, or
of the Court of a Presidency Magistrate or Magistrate of the
first class,".
A perusal of this section clearly shows that a bond for the production
of the property seized by the police must be executed before the Court,
although a bond for the appearance of any person before the Court can
be taken by the police under section 170(2) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure. This section also clearly enjoins that a bond can be forfeited only if it is ~ecuted before a Court or. before a Presidency M~gi~
trate or a Magistrate of the first class. Sechon 6. of !he Code of <;rurunal Procedure classifies the classes of courts which rncludes magistrate
of the first class also. In the present case, 'therefore, once the car was
seized by the police, it was the duty of the police under se~tion 523. to
report the matter to the magistrate and get an order from htm regarding
the custody of the car.
This does not appear to have been done. Even
the bond which was executed by the appellant, was not before the
782
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1976] 1 s.c.R.
·court or the magistrate but before the police officer, and in these cirA
cumstances, therefore, th_e aforesaid bond was not one as contemplated
by section 514 and, therefore, could not be forfeited.
This Court in
Rameshwar /3hartia v. The State of Assam\) went into this
very
question and observed :
'
"The other point taken on behalf of the appellant is a
more substantial one.
The security bond was taken from
B
him not by the court but by the Procurement Inspector. It
is true that it contained the u.1dertaking that the seized
paddy would be produced before the court, but still it was a
promise made to the particular official and not to the court.
The High Court was in error in thinking that section 514,
Criminal Procedure Code applied, Action could be taken
orily when the bond is taken by the cqurt under the proviC
sions of the Code .... "
The facts of the present case squarely fall within the ratio laid down
in that case. It follows, therefore, that unless a personal bond is executed by a person for the production of the property, before a court,
it shall not be valid in law.
In veiw of these circumstances, therefore, we are satisfied that the
bond executed by the appellant was not legally enforceable and the
order of the courts below forfeiting the bond must, therefore, be
quashed.
Before closing this judgment, we would like to observe that even
D
in the new Criminal Procedure Code, there is no express provision
E
which empowers the police to get a bond from the person to whom the
property seized is entrusted.
This may lead to practical difficulties.
for instance in cases where a bulky property, like an elephant or a
car is seized and the magistrate is living at a great distance, it would
be difficult for a police officer to report to the magistrate with the property.
In these circumstances, we feel that the Government will be
well-advised to make suitable amendments in the Code of Criminal
F
Procedure to fiU up this serious lacuna by giving power to the police for
taking the bond in such circumstances.
We would also like to make
it clear that since th" bond is legally invalid. it is not enforceable under
section 514, Criminal Procedure Code, but we refrain from making any
observation regarding any other liability of the appellant under the
law. For the reasons given above, we allow this appeal, set aside the
orders of the courts below and discharge the appellant from the bond.
G
V.M.K.
Appeal allowed.
(l)A.J.R. 1952 s.c. 405.
L 925 Sup C 1/75-2500-4-3-76. GIPF