Vehicle Confiscated in NDPS Case Can Be Released Pending Appeal: Punjab & Haryana High Court Protects Owner from Economic Loss

Case Name: Gurjinder Singh v. State of Punjab & Another

Date of Judgment: 29 May 2026

Citation: CRM-14893-2026 in CRA-D-206 of 2021

Bench: Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur

Held: The Punjab & Haryana High Court held that a vehicle confiscated in an NDPS case can be released to its registered owner during the pendency of an appeal against conviction upon furnishing adequate financial security. The Court observed that continued retention of a vehicle for years serves no useful purpose, causes substantial economic loss, and leads to deterioration of valuable property, especially when the conviction and confiscation order have not attained finality.

Summary: The applicant sought release of a truck that had been confiscated after his conviction under Sections 27-A, 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act. The vehicle had allegedly been used for transporting 252.600 kilograms of poppy husk and was ordered to be confiscated by the trial court while sentencing the applicant. The conviction was under challenge before the High Court and the appeal remained pending adjudication.

The applicant contended that the confiscated truck had been lying unused for years, resulting in continuous depreciation and deterioration of its value. He offered to furnish financial bonds equivalent to the present market value of the vehicle to secure the State’s interests.

The Division Bench extensively examined the statutory framework governing confiscation under the NDPS Act and the powers of criminal courts regarding interim custody of seized property. The Court referred to Sections 60 and 63 of the NDPS Act, Section 497 BNSS, and a series of Supreme Court decisions emphasizing that vehicles should not be allowed to deteriorate in police custody merely because criminal proceedings are pending.

Relying upon the Supreme Court’s decisions in Bishwajit Dey v. State of Assam and Denash v. State of Tamil Nadu, the Court observed that there is no absolute statutory prohibition against interim release of vehicles seized or confiscated under the NDPS Act. Even where confiscation proceedings are involved, the rights of owners and claimants must be balanced against the interests of prosecution.

In a significant observation, the Court noted that vehicles parked for years in police compounds or storage yards become roadworthy no longer and eventually turn into scrap, causing loss not only to the owner but also to financial institutions, public resources, and the environment. The Bench remarked that the offence is committed by persons using the vehicle and not by the vehicle itself, and retaining a vehicle indefinitely serves little practical purpose when its evidentiary value can be preserved through inventories, photographs and valuation reports.

The Court further held that where an appeal against conviction is pending, confiscation cannot be treated as having attained finality because the conviction itself remains subject to judicial scrutiny. If the conviction is eventually set aside, continued retention of the vehicle would result in irreversible loss to the owner.

Decision: Allowing the application, the Punjab & Haryana High Court directed release of the confiscated truck in favour of its registered owner subject to furnishing personal and surety bonds equivalent to its current market value. The applicant and guarantor were required to undertake that in the event the confiscation order is ultimately upheld, they would pay the vehicle’s assessed market value together with interest at 6% per annum compounded annually. The Court also clarified that once released, there would ordinarily be no restriction on use, alteration, sale, hypothecation or transfer of the vehicle, subject to continuation of the financial bonds and any existing legal restrictions.