HC shocked over delay in disposal of case properties

Shocked over non-compliance of well-settled principles of law for disposal of case properties by lower courts as well as the city police, the Delhi High Court has issued a slew of directions to ensure that case properties are disposed of in a timely manner as directed by the Supreme Court from time to time.
"This court is shocked to note the non-compliance of the well-settled principles of law for disposal of the case properties, which has resulted in accumulation of 2,86,741 case properties including 25,547 vehicles, out of which as many as 2,479 properties are lying on public places outside the police stations. The photographs filed by the Delhi Police along with the affidavit dated April 3, 2014 show the shocking state of affairs," Justice J R Midha said.

The court also noted in its judgement that "non-compliance of the directions of the Supreme Court have resulted in the blocking of valuable area inside as well as around the police stations and the public places by the vehicles which have been reduced to junk and have thus resulted in loss of national wealth.
"Unnecessary retention of properties have also led to theft and misappropriations. No measures have been taken by the police for safety of these vehicles. The vehicles kept in the open spaces are also prone to fast and natural decay on account of weather conditions," it said.

The court passed the order on a plea of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Managment Committee's President, Manjit Singh, who was not allowed by a sessions court here to sell his vehicle which had been stolen.