Writ relief for return of seized gold ornaments granted where no rival claim or substantive basis to withhold was shown.

Writ jurisdiction was used to seek return of seized gold ornaments from a locker, and the Court accepted the claim because the respondents failed to show any substantive basis for withholding the articles. The only objection was uncertainty over whether the ornaments should go to the petitioner or her son, but the petitioner's explanation that the locker was jointly operated for convenience and that no third party had asserted a claim was not denied. The Court declined to examine collateral questions about possible proceedings under the Gold Control Act and directed restoration of the seized ornaments to the petitioner.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to a writ directing return of gold ornaments seized from the locker, and whether the respondents had shown any sufficient basis to withhold the articles.

Analysis: The petition invoked writ jurisdiction for return of seized gold ornaments. The seizure was not justified on merits in the counter-affidavit, and the only objection raised was a doubt as to whether the articles should be returned to the petitioner or to her son. The petitioner's assertion that the locker had been jointly operated for convenience, that her husband had died earlier, and that no third party had come forward to claim the articles was not denied. In these circumstances, the Court found no substance in the respondent's stand and declined to go into disputed questions about possible action under the Gold Control Act or any other statutory proceeding, as those matters were unnecessary for deciding the prayer for return of the seized articles.

Conclusion: The petitioner was held entitled to return of the seized gold ornaments, and the respondent was directed to restore the articles seized from the specified locker.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the seizure of property is not substantively justified and no rival claimant establishes a better entitlement, the Court may direct return of the seized articles in writ jurisdiction without adjudicating collateral or speculative statutory proceedings.

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