Pramesh S Jain
Karnataka State Police Complaints Authority member Mohan Kumar Danappa has urged Director General and Inspector General of Police to issue statewide guidelines to prevent vehicles seized in criminal and traffic cases from being parked for years in front of and inside police stations.
In a letter dated August 10, Mohan Kumar Danappa said seized vehicles are often left exposed to sun,rain and dust for prolonged periods,resulting in their deterioration and substantial loss of value.
In several cases,even after courts order their release,the vehicles are reportedly found in an unusable condition.
He also pointed out that the long-term parking of seized vehicles causes inconvenience to the public and police personnel by occupying space in and around police station premises.
The authority referred to the Supreme Court’s observations in Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai vs State of Gujarat,which stressed that seized vehicles should not be allowed to remain unnecessarily at police stations and should be released expeditiously after completing necessary documentation,photographs and panchnamas,subject to court orders.
The letter also cited the Supreme Court’s directions in General Insurance Council VS State of Andhra Pradesh, emphasising the need to prevent seized vehicles from deteriorating unnecessarily.
Danappa called for the establishment of central vehicle storage yards in every district where seized vehicles can be safely preserved.
He suggested that once investigation-related documentation is completed,vehicles should be produced before the court and released into interim custody at the earliest,in accordance with the law.
He further proposed that vehicles remaining unclaimed for long periods should be dealt with through lawful auction or scrapping procedures.
The authority has also sought a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all police stations in Karnataka covering the handling,preservation and disposal of seized vehicles.
It suggested documenting the condition of every seized vehicle through digital photographs and videos to reduce the need for prolonged physical storage at police stations.
The move follows a representation submitted by Govardhan C,founder of Law People Trust and advocate, seeking statewide directions to ensure that police station premises remain free of abandoned or seized vehicles and that the property of vehicle owners is properly preserved.
Danappa has requested the DGP to examine the representation and take necessary action to issue statewide guidelines for the safe preservation and speedy release of seized vehicles,and to inform the Police Complaints Authority about the action taken.
