IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD MONDAY, THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF AUGUST TWO THOUSAND AND NINE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD Criminal Petition No.2287 of 2009 Between: Smt. Nimmagadda Sridevi .. Petitioner AND The State of A.P. rep. by Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad and others .. Respondents Petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. praying that in the circumstances stated in the grounds filed therewith, the High Court will be pleased to relax the condition imposed by the Special Judge to try cases under A.P.P.D.F.E. Act-cum-Metropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam in Crl.M.P. No.1341 of 2007 directing the petitioner not to alienate the property bearing Plot Nos.180 and 181 consisting of II and part of IV floor, D Square, Dabagardens, Main Road, Block No.41, Allipuram Road, Visakhapatnam pending further orders. The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petition and the grounds filed in support thereof and upon hearing the arguments of Sri N.V. Shravan Kumar, learned counsel representing Sri C. Kodanda Ram, Advocate for the petitioner and of the Public Prosecutor for respondents 1 and 2, the Court made the following: ORDER: Heard Sri N.V. Shravan Kumar, learned counsel representing Sri C. Kodanda Ram, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri A. Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for respondents 1 and 2. The petitioner is the owner of the building in plot Nos.180 and 181, D Square, Dabagardens, Main Road, Block No.41, Allipuram Road, Visakhapatnam. The property was seized in Crime No.323 of 2007 and the petitioner was not alleged to be, in any manner, involved in the said offence. The petitioner claimed that the property was let out to M/s. Techway Software Private Limited, Managing Director of which, is the accused in the crime and in fact, the said person was in arrears of rent to her. The petitioner further claimed that she incurred debts for the purchase of the building, which she was unable to repay due to default in payment of rents by the accused and due to the further events depriving her of any income from the property. On her application in Criminal M.P. No.1341 of 2007, the Special Judge to try cases under the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act-cum-Metropolitan Sessions Judge ordered interim custody of the property to be entrusted to the petitioner on her execution of a bond for Rs.70,00,000/- with one surety and also on her undertaking not to alienate the property in any manner until further orders. The petitioner then filed Criminal M.P. No.1541 of 2008 to relax the condition and then Criminal M.P. No.254 of 2009 on the dismissal of the earlier application, as the building was not handed over to her by that time and requested for permitting her to alienate the premises. The Special Judge, however, dismissed the application on 24-02-2009, as there was no change in the circumstances. The petitioner claims that she has nothing to do with the criminal case and any condition against alienation cannot be continued against her. The fact that the only link between the sequence of events that led to registration of the crime and investigation into it and the petitioner, is that the accused carried on culpable activities from the premises owned by the petitioner, which he had taken on rent, is not in dispute. Such a situation cannot, ex facie, make the petitioner liable for any adverse action under the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act, 1999 or the Rules made thereunder. Ex facie, the property of the petitioner cannot be proceeded against, even if the allegations against the accused are true and consequently, restraining the petitioner from alienating the property will be restraining her from exercising her right of ownership over the property for no fault of hers, when it cannot even be remotely said that she is guilty of any offence or any conduct that can be described as leading to attribution of any criminal liability or civil responsibility. The bond executed by her along with one surety to the satisfaction of the Special Judge continues to be in force, as what was ordered was only interim custody and the said bond of the petitioner and the surety can be enforced in the event of ultimately the Special Judge finding any such enforcement to be within the provisions of the Special Act and the Rules made thereunder. While, therefore, relaxing the said condition, as what was entrusted to the petitioner was only interim custody, it can be directed by way of abundant caution that any alienation, which the petitioner proposes to make, during the pendency of the criminal proceedings, may be with prior intimation to the Special Court and also with intimation to the proposed alienee about the petitioner obtaining interim custody of the property on execution of a bond for Rs.70,00,000/- with one surety. Therefore, the condition imposed by the order in Crl.M.P. No.1341 of 2007 in Crime No.323 of 2007 of II Town Police Station, Visakhapatnam on the file of the Special Judge for trial of Cases under the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act-cum-Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam directing the petitioner to undertake not to alienate the subject property in any manner until further orders, is relaxed subject to the petitioner giving prior intimation to the said Court about any proposed alienation of the property during the pendency of the criminal proceedings and further subject to the petitioner giving prior intimation to the proposed alienee of her obtaining interim custody of the property on her execution of a bond for Rs.70,00,000/- with one surety in favour of the said Court. This order, however, does not preclude the petitioner from pursuing any other remedies open to her under the said Special Act or the Rules made thereunder in respect of the subject property even during the pendency of the criminal proceedings. The criminal petition is ordered accordingly. _____________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J Date: 24-08-2009 Svv