Special statutory seizure procedure governs sand-transport vehicle cases, and binding Division Bench precedent must be followed until overruled.

Where a special statute creates a complete mechanism for seizure, objection, release and sale of vehicles used in illegal sand transport, that procedure prevails over the general scheme of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Seizure under the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001 and its Rules is therefore governed by the special enactment, with no requirement to proceed under Section 102 CrPC or to seek interim custody under Sections 451 or 457 CrPC. The Court also emphasised judicial discipline: a Single Judge must follow binding Division Bench precedent unless it is overruled by a larger Bench or the Supreme Court, and a stay in another proceeding does not remove that binding force.

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Issues: Whether, in cases of seizure of vehicles used for illegal transport of sand under the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001, the special statutory procedure excludes resort to the Code of Criminal Procedure and whether a learned Single Judge can disregard binding Division Bench decisions on the ground that one of them is under challenge.

Analysis: The Act makes the offences cognizable, but the scheme of the Act and the Rules provides a special procedure for seizure, objection, release, and sale of the vehicle. On that scheme, seizure is to be effected under the Act and the Rules, not under Section 102 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and there is no statutory requirement to file a seizure report before the Magistrate or to seek interim custody under Sections 451 or 457 of the Code. The Court also held that judicial discipline requires a Single Judge to follow binding Division Bench precedent unless it is overruled by a larger Bench or by the Supreme Court, and that the mere existence of a stay in another proceeding does not erase the precedential force of the Division Bench rulings.

Conclusion: The special procedure under the Sand Act and the Rules governs seizure and release of such vehicles, and the earlier Division Bench rulings remain binding until displaced by a larger Bench, the Supreme Court, or legislative intervention.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by affirming the District Collector's statutory control over seizure and release under the special enactment and by holding that the Single Judge must follow the binding Division Bench decisions.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a special statute creates a complete confiscation and release mechanism for seized property, that mechanism prevails over the general criminal procedure, and a court of coordinate or lesser strength must adhere to binding precedent until it is lawfully overruled.

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