HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 10765 of 2011 ORDER : The petitioner has approached this Court with a prayer to return the vehicle i.e., Hero Honda Plus bearing Registration No.AP-02-B- 5906, involved in Crime No.101/2011-12 of Kadiri Prohibition & Excise Station, Anantapur District, for the offences punishable under Sections 34 (e) of A.P. Excise Act, 1968 read with Section 7 (A) and 8(e) of A.P.Prohibition Act. 2) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent-State. Perused the records. 3) The petitioner is the owner of the crime vehicle. The investigation is said to have been virtually completed. In Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat ([1]), the Apex Court has laid down that in case of vehicles seized during investigation, they should not be allowed to deteriorate by being kept unused and unattended in the premises of the police stations. Therefore, the vehicle has to be entrusted to the interim custody of the petitioner subject to appropriate conditions. 4) In the result, the criminal petition is allowed and the Hero Honda Plus bearing Registration No.AP-02-B-5906 seized in Crime No.101/2011-12 of Kadiri Prohibition & Excise Station, Anantapur District, shall be released for interim custody of the petitioner, subject to final orders to be passed at the time of disposal of main case, on executing a personal bond for Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousand only) with one surety for the likesum to the satisfaction of the Judicial First Class Magistrate at Kadiri. Further, the petitioner shall give an undertaking that he will not alienate the said vehicle and shall produce the same as and when required in connection with the said crime. However, this order does not preclude the authorities concerned from proceeding with the confiscation proceedings. ___________________ JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO Date: 05.11.2011 v v [1] (2002) 10 SCC 283