Special statute bars criminal court release of seized truck where Customs Act provides provisional release mechanism.

The Customs Act, 1962 provides an exhaustive scheme for seizure, custody and provisional release of goods and conveyances through the proper officer and adjudicating authority, including provisional release under section 110A. Because that special mechanism governs seized property, a criminal court cannot use general criminal procedure to direct release of a truck seized under the Act. The court held that recourse to general criminal jurisdiction is barred where the statute prescribes a specific process, and the order granting custody was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether a criminal court can order release of a truck seized under the Customs Act, 1962, when the Act provides a specific mechanism for seizure and provisional release of goods and conveyances.

Analysis: The Customs Act, 1962, contains a complete scheme governing seizure, custody, and provisional release of goods and conveyances through the proper officer and adjudicating authority. Section 110A specifically empowers provisional release of seized goods pending adjudication, and the statutory mechanism under the Act displaces recourse to the general criminal process for obtaining custody of such seized property. The principle that a special enactment prevails over the general law applies, and the criminal court's powers under the general criminal procedure law cannot be used to bypass the procedure prescribed by the Customs Act.

Conclusion: The criminal court had no jurisdiction to direct release of the seized truck, and the order granting custody was unsustainable. The petition was therefore allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a special statute provides an exhaustive mechanism for seizure and provisional release of property, recourse to the general criminal jurisdiction for release of that property is barred.

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