Honourable Mr. Justice T.R. Ramachandran Nair - (1.)PETITIONER is the registered owner of a vehicle bearing registration No. KL -08 -E -8577. The vehicle was seized on 4 -8 -2012 for alleged violation of the provisions under the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act and the Rules. It is averred in the writ petition that a copy of the seizure mahazar was not given to the petitioner. Ext. P2 is the representation filed by the petitioner before the District Collector to finalise the adjudication proceedings. The petitioner also prays for a direction to release the vehicle to the petitioner without delay. Heard learned Government Pleader. It is submitted that the petitioner can approach the criminal court for getting release of the vehicle, in the light of the decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Sujith v. State of Kerala and others [ : 2012 (2) KLT 547].
(2.)THE Division Bench in paragraph 13 of the above Judgment have issued the following directions: -
It is hereby ordered that the revenue and police authorities, while effecting seizure, shall ensure that any revenue official effecting the seizure, notifies such seizure, also to a police official, over and above the requirement in S. 22 of the Act and the Rules. That police official may effect seizure of those goods and report such seizure to the jurisdictional Magistrate in accordance with law and any police officer effecting seizure shall, apart from reporting any such seizure to the jurisdictional Magistrate, also place a report of such seizure before the concerned revenue authority so that action can follow through the criminal court and through the revenue authority in terms of the laws. Following the aforesaid, it is further ordered that in all pending cases, the competent police officer shall effect seizure and report the same to the jurisdictional Magistrate, if not already done and the competent revenue authority shall make appropriate complaint to the jurisdictional Magistrate at the earliest. This would also enable the owners of the goods or vehicles to apply for interim custody in terms of S. 451 or 457 Cr.P.C., as the case may be. In ordering release, the Judicial Magistrate shall be guided by the terms laid down by the Full Bench of this Court in Shan v. State of Kerala ( : 2010 (3) KLT 413 (FB). The appropriate authorities shall also file complaints for initiating prosecution in all cases, where offences under the Act are disclosed. These directions shall apply in dealing with sand and vehicles, seized by the police or revenue authority under the provisions of the Act or the Code of Criminal Procedure, over and above the directions in Moosakoya (2008 (1) KLT 538) and Shoukathali ( : 2009 (1) KLT 640), until appropriate legislative provisions are brought in.

In the light of the above, there will be a direction to the 2nd respondent to file a report, after effecting seizure, before the jurisdictional Magistrate within a period of seven days from the date of production of a certified copy of this judgment for enabling the petitioner to move the concerned Criminal Court under sections 451 or 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The District Collector shall finalise the adjudication proceedings within a period of three months after hearing the petitioner.

The writ petition is accordingly disposed of.