2006 car seizure case: Mumbai police rapped for 'abuse of process of law'

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday rapped the Mumbai police for lodging an FIR after a city businessman filed a petition against the cops for carting away his car from his locked bungalow.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Sambhaji Shinde quashed the FIR at Meghwadi police lodged by the RTO against the businessman's mother and his lawyer.
"The act of filing the FIR belatedly is nothing but an abuse of the process of law by the police," said the judges, noting that the criminal complaint was registered only after the HC petition was filed.
The case dates back to August 20, 2006, when according to the petition, businessman Rajendra Sethi, who runs Popular Cars, and his family were out of town and their house was locked. RTO officer Anandram Wagle and inspector Shahid Siddiqui, then attached to the Meghwadi police station, entered the premises though the gate was locked, broke open the glass of the car and took the car to the police station.
Sethi's mother and a lawyer, O Pandey, went to the police station to inquire why the car was taken into police custody but were not given any answers. Sethi then moved the high court for return of the vehicle on August 28. On September 7, the police lodged an FIR against Sethi's mother and the lawyer for forgery of documents related to the car and obstructing police officers from carrying out their duties.
Earlier this month, the court had ordered the state to pay Rs 10,000 as damages for illegally carting away his car. The court on Friday noted that the police action of entering a locked premises and taking away the car in itself was illegal. "No offence under the Indian Penal Code was made out (against Seth's mother and lawyer)," said the judges and added, "Obviously, only after grievance about the illegal action of the officers was made to the high court that the FIR was lodged."
Wagle, who in December 2012 tried to get the case dropped, ensured that the state was not saddled with costs.