HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE G. BHAVANI PRASAD Criminal Petition No.6948 of 2009 ORDER: Heard Sri Kasi Nageswara Rao, learned counsel representing Sri K. Joseph, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri A. Ramesh, learned counsel representing the learned Public Prosecutor for the respondent. Cr.No.128 of 2009 on the file of Khammam I Town Police Station was registered on the strength of a confession and seizure panchnama. The panchnama states that the accused confessed to be carrying 30 litres of illicitly distilled toddy, in the subject vehicle, which is adulterated. The petitioner claims that he is the registered owner of TVS Moped, which was seized having purchased the same from one R. Veeraiah and he filed a copy of the registration certificate in his name in corroboration of his claim. He claims that one Dugyala Venkata Rao, his friend, took the vehicle from him on 08-04-2009 to attend a function at Khammam and he is innocent of the alleged offence or the transport of toddy by using his vehicle. Irrespective of the truth or otherwise of the allegations of the petitioner, if the vehicle were to be unattended and unused in the premises of the police station till the finality of criminal proceedings, it would become junk. Such a contingency was advised by the Apex Court to be avoided in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat[1], wherein a maximum time limit was prescribed for passing orders under Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for interim custody judiciously and expeditiously. Therefore, irrespective of other considerations, the interim custody of the vehicle should be entrusted to the petitioner subject to appropriate conditions as he appears to be the ostensible owner of the vehicle. Therefore, T.V.S. Moped bearing No.AP-20-L-6979 seized in Cr.No.128 of 2009 of Khammam I Town Police Station, shall be entrusted to the interim custody of the petitioner on his execution of a personal bond for Rs.10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand only) with one surety for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Prohibition and Excise, Khammam, and further subject to the petitioner undertaking to maintain the vehicle in the same physical state without altering the physical features and not to alienate the same and to produce the same whenever directed by the court till the finality of criminal proceedings. The Criminal Petition is ordered accordingly. _____________________ G. BHAVANI PRASAD, J Date: 02-09-2009 Ksn [1] 2002 (10) SCC 283