Section 173 · Paragraph 165. Rules governing the disposal of property seized by the police

The following rules govern the disposal of movable property seized by the police:-
(1) A brief list of the property shall be made in the General Diary.
A summary of every entry relating to such property shall be prepared at the police station and forwarded to the Magistrate concerned.
(2) Large property, other than life-proportionate property, seized under Section 25 of the Police Act (5 of 1861) or attached, stopped, or seized under Sections 83, 84, 85, 422, or 457 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, shall ordinarily be left at the place where it was found, pending the Magistrate's orders, in the charge of a landholder or other respectable person who agrees to take custody of the property and to undertake the responsibility of producing it when required by the Court.
(3) (a) Pending the order of the court, the animals shall ordinarily be handed over to the keeper of the cattle pound, and the person claiming ownership of the animals, or any other person on his behalf, may be permitted to provide for their feeding and watering while they are in his charge.
(b) Instead of handing over the animals to the keeper of the cattle pound, the officer in charge of the police station may, if he thinks fit, appoint one or more shepherds for their care, upon application made to him by any person, if this can be done safely, on such person executing a bond with or without surety to be produced when required.
(c) The expenses of the custody, grazing, and transportation of the animals shall, in almost all cases, be recoverable from the sale of the animals if they are sold, and from the person who hands them over to another person by order of the court, and shall be so recovered subject to any order passed by the court.
(d) If the livestock are sold, the officer in charge of the police station where they were seized and the police clerk associated with the court that ordered the sale are responsible for bringing the amount spent on them to the attention of the officer conducting the sale so that the accounts can be reconciled. If the expenses exceed the sale proceeds, they should be paid from the Superintendent's contract grant.
(e) If the court orders the livestock to be given to another person, the police clerk associated with the court should obtain an order from the court for payment of the expenses. If the court orders the person to whom the livestock were given to pay the expenses, they should not be given to him until he makes the payment. If he fails to do so, the court should be asked to pass an order.
(f) If the court orders the expenses to be paid by the government, the payment should be made from the Superintendent's contract grant.
(4) If the police seize the property of any person who has not submitted a will, a complete and accurate list of all such property in duplicate, signed by two respectable witnesses from the neighbourhood, shall be prepared. Any property falling under the following heads shall not be forwarded to headquarters and shall be sold by auction on the spot by the station house officer after obtaining the approval of the judge of the court through the District Magistrate in Agra Province and the District Magistrate in Oudh Province in each particular case:
(a) Fast-moving and naturally perishable property.
(b) Articles worth less than eight annas each.
(c) Property the cost of storing and transporting to the court of which would exceed its value.
(d) Property not included in the foregoing heads but valued at not less than Rs. 5.
(5) Property to be forwarded to Headquarters must be sent directly to the Public Prosecutor, marked and labeled (except for personal property), and accompanied by a complete and accurate description in triplicate. The label must indicate from whom or where the item was taken and the date. If the property conforms to the description, the Public Prosecutor shall have the following entries made by the Storekeeper Mohrir before forwarding the document to the Magistrate:
(1) Unclaimed property and property seized under Section 45 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, in his Storekeeper's Register of Unclaimed and Case Property.
(2) Arms and movable property subject to confiscation and confiscation in the Storekeeper's Register of Detained Property.
... (3) The movable property belonging to the accused or convicted person in the Malkhana Register of Miscellaneous Property or the property which has been attached under sections 83, 84, 85 of the Code or has been seized for failure to pay fine, penalty or fee.
(4) The unclaimed property in his Unclaimed Property Register. He shall then endorse the receipt and the Malkhana Register number on the third copy of the statement received from the police station and return it to the officer who brought the property from the police station. The original copy of this list shall be kept by the concerned court along with other relevant papers. The officer inspecting the treasury should refer to the list maintained by the officer in charge of the treasury.
Note: The property to be subsequently identified shall be sealed by the investigating officer in the presence of the witnesses to the search, who should sign or affix their thumbprints on the cover containing the item as authentication of the sealing. The seal shall be broken only by the magistrate conducting the identification of the property. If such property is sent to the Public Prosecutor, he should make an entry in his register stating that the seal is intact and shall not break the seal or enter the details in the register until the identification proceedings are concluded.
(6) When the property is gold, silver, precious stones, or other valuables, it shall be sent in a sealed envelope after weighing it, and its weight shall be recorded in the general diary and the list enclosed in the envelope. A set of weights and measures should be maintained at each police station.
(7) The storehouse clerk, who shall be an officer with not less than 15 years of service, shall sign in the storehouse as a token of receipt of the property recovered by him.
Note
In Anwar Ahmed v. State, the facts were that the police, after recovery of a stolen car, handed over a bond to the person in custody, with the condition that he produce it whenever required. When this was not done, the magistrate confiscated the bond. The decision held that neither the police were competent to deliver the car by obtaining a bond that could be enforced under Section 446 of the CrPC, nor could the magistrate seize such a bond under Section 457 of the CrPC. The police were obliged to produce the vehicle before the magistrate under Section 457 of the CrPC, and only the magistrate was competent to order its disposal. The Police Regulations do not grant the police such authority.