IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD FRIDAY, THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND NINE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD Criminal Petition No.7715 of 2009 Between: M. Krishna, S/o Arjuna Rao .. Petitioner AND State of Andhra Pradesh, represented by Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad and 2 others .. Respondents Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. praying that in the circumstances stated in the grounds filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased to direct the respondents 2 and 3 to forthwith release the auto bearing Regd.No.AP-05-W-4270 seized in Cr.No.28 of 2009 of Mothugudem Police Station, Khammam District. The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petition and the grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of Sri Palle Nageswararao, learned counsel for the petitioner and of Sri A. Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for the respondents, the Court made the following: ORDER: Heard Sri Palle Nageswararao, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri A. Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for the respondents. Mothugudem Police filed the charge sheet in Crime No.28 of 2009 against three accused, alleging that the contraband was being transported in three plastic cans in the subject auto, when it was intercepted and the illicitly distilled liquor and the auto were seized. The petitioner claims to be the owner of auto and filed a copy of the certificate of registration, which, prima facie, corroborates his claim. The petitioner claims that he engaged a driver to run the auto purchased by him with Finance from Shri Ram Transport Finance Company Limited, Visakhapatnam, and he learnt that the auto was engaged by the accused in the case with the driver not being aware of the luggage being carried by those persons in the auto. The petitioner further claims that due to seizure of the vehicle, he is unable to pay the loan instalments to the Finance Company and also to earn his livelihood, and therefore, requested for interim custody of the vehicle to avoid damage and deterioration of the vehicle by being kept idle and unattended till the finality of the criminal proceedings. Whether the claims of innocence of the petitioner are true or not, the vehicle has to be preserved for the benefit of the person, who ultimately succeeds in the case and the principles laid down i n Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat[1] mandate that interim custody should be entrusted to the petitioner under such circumstances. Therefore, the auto AP-05-W-4270 seized in Cr.No.28 of 2009 of Mothugudem Police Station, Khammam District, shall be entrusted to the interim custody of the petitioner on his execution of a personal bond for Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) with one surety for a like sum to the satisfaction of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Bhadrachalam, and on the petitioner further undertaking to maintain the vehicle in the same physical state without any change of its physical features and not to alienate or encumber the vehicle and produce the same whenever directed by the Court. The Criminal Petition is ordered accordingly. _____________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J Date: 18-09-2009 Ksn [1] (2002) 10 SCC 283