Confiscated Property and Jurisdiction: criminal court cannot order return after vesting in Government, High Court may intervene

Property validly confiscated under customs law vests in the Central Government, so a subordinate criminal court has no jurisdiction to direct its return to the accused. Where a Magistrate nevertheless orders release of such confiscated property, the High Court may intervene under its inherent powers to correct the jurisdictional illegality, even if an alternative remedy exists. The principle applies only in an exceptional case where the lower court's order is beyond jurisdiction and cannot stand.

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Issues: Whether the High Court could invoke its inherent jurisdiction to set aside a Magistrate's order directing return of seized primary gold to the accused, where the gold had already been confiscated in adjudication proceedings and vested in the Central Government.

Analysis: The confiscation order had been made in adjudication proceedings and, on confiscation, the property vested in the Central Government under the Customs law. In that situation, the criminal court had no proper jurisdiction to direct return of the property to the accused. The existence of an alternative remedy did not prevent interference where the subordinate court had committed an illegality touching jurisdiction. The case was treated as an exceptional one warranting correction under the High Court's inherent powers.

Conclusion: The order directing return of the seized gold to the accused was set aside and the petition was allowed.

Final Conclusion: A criminal court cannot direct return of property that has already stood confiscated and vested in the Government, and the High Court may intervene under its inherent powers to correct such jurisdictional illegality.

Ratio Decidendi: Where property has been validly confiscated under customs law and vested in the Government, a subordinate criminal court cannot order its return, and the High Court may exercise inherent jurisdiction to correct the resulting jurisdictional illegality in an exceptional case.

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