Seized cash under Section 451 CrPC may be reconsidered after notice to tax and enforcement authorities.

Cash seized in a criminal case and produced before the Magistrate may be reconsidered for release under Section 451 CrPC where a fresh hearing is sought with the Income Tax Department and the Directorate of Enforcement impleaded. The text notes that the Magistrate's earlier dismissal was justified on the material then available, but the reconsideration request was treated as reasonable because the petitioner claimed to be the employer of the person from whom the cash was seized. The Income Tax Department was also permitted to file a claim petition, which the Magistrate must adjudicate along with the application.

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Issues: Whether the order dismissing the application under Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, should be set aside and the matter reconsidered after notice to the Income Tax Department and the Directorate of Enforcement.

Analysis: Cash seized in a criminal case had been produced before the Magistrate, and the petitioner claimed to be the employer of the person from whom it was seized. The Income Tax Department had already reported that notices issued to the person concerned had evoked no response. The Court accepted that the Magistrate's dismissal was justified on the material before him, but found the request for reconsideration reasonable because the petitioner sought a fresh hearing with the concerned authorities impleaded. The Court also permitted the Income Tax Department to file a claim petition, which the Magistrate would have to adjudicate along with the application.

Conclusion: The impugned order was set aside and the application under Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, was directed to be reconsidered after impleading and hearing the Income Tax Department and the Directorate of Enforcement.

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