State Police Chief (SPC) Loknath Behera has asked all police stations to dispose of seized and abandoned vehicles kept at the stations to keep the premises hygienic and tidy in view of the COVID-19 situation as well as a recent High Court directive on disposal of such vehicles.
In his order, Mr. Behera emphasises the need to maintain hygiene by all personnel and keeping police stations spick and span by disposing of all seized vehicles on the premises.
The order says that unclaimed vehicles not involved in crime cases can be disposed of invoking Section 56 of the Kerala Police Act. In fact, there has been a lack of clarity among a few police officers about the disposal of vehicles, details of which are not available at stations.
Such vehicles might have been seized long back either in connection with a crime or entrusted with the station by some other department for safe custody. A large number of vehicles have been seized in connection with crimes registered for unauthorised sand-mining.
The order says that any seized vehicle in relation to which no legal action or court proceeding is pending shall be deemed to be an unclaimed article under Section 56 of the Kerala Police Act 2011. As per the Act, before declaring a seized vehicle as unclaimed, the registered certificate owner shall be issued a notice by the SHO concerned to take possession of the vehicle forthwith and subject to certain conditions.
If the owner does not respond, such vehicles can be treated as unclaimed and action can be taken for disposing them of under the Act.
The order also states that vehicles seized as material objects in criminal cases under the Indian Penal Code and other special or local laws shall be disposed of only on the basis of a court order after completion of the trial. However, such vehicles can be released temporarily to the legal owner on the condition that they shall be produced as and when required by the prosecution.
The order advises police officers to seize vehicles during investigation only when the vehicle forms a crucial part of the evidence.
The order requires the station house officer to take steps to auction abandoned vehicles seized by the police as per procedure. If nobody claims the vehicle 30 days from the date of seizure, the SHO can auction badly damaged vehicles involved in accidents.
