Gujarat High Court
Pratik Kantibhai Hirani vs State Of Gujarat on 18 November, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/SCR.A/13329/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/11/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION (POSSESSION OF MUDDAMAL)
NO. 13329 of 2025
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PRATIK KANTIBHAI HIRANI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR. SUNIL H. CHAUDHARY(18292) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
RAFIK LOKHANDWALA(5590) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR ROHAN RAVAL, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. R. MENGDEY
Date : 18/11/2025
ORAL ORDER
Rule. Learned APP waives notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent.
1. The present petition is filed by the petitioner praying for the following reliefs:
"(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to admit and allow this petition, in the interest of justice. (B) Your Lordships may be pleased to quash and set aside the judgment and order dated 20.08.2025 passed by the learned 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Gandhinagar in Criminal Revision Application No. 104/2025, upholding the order dated 06.05.2025 passed by the learned 2nd Additional JMFC, Gandhinagar in Criminal Misc. Application No. 1099/2025, in the interest of justice. (C) Your Lordships may be pleased to direct release of the muddamal currency notes amounting to Rs.
5,00,000/- in favour of the petitioner, which were seized during investigation in relation to FIR No. Page 1 of 3 Uploaded by MR.AMIT HEMANTKUMAR SONAGARA(HCD0079) on Wed Nov 19 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 20 01:18:52 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/13329/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/11/2025 undefined 11216011250102 of 2025 dated 13.03.2025 registered with InfoCity Police Station, District Gandhinagar, in the interest of justice. (D) Pending admission, hearing, and final disposal of this petition, Your Lordships may be pleased to grant interim custody of the aforesaid muddamal currency notes to the petitioner, subject to such terms and conditions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit, in the interest of justice.
(E) Your Lordships may be pleased to grant such other and further reliefs as may be deemed fit, just, and proper, in the interest of justice."
2. Learned Advocate for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is arraigned as an accused in the FIR in question for an offence punishable under the provisions of the NDPS Act. Along with the contraband substance, the cash worth Rs.5 lakhs had also been recovered from the possession of the petitioner. The cash belongs to the present petitioner and it is not the case of prosecution that the said cash had been derived by the petitioner through any illegal means nor it is the case of the prosecution that the said cash was intended to be used for commission of any illegal activity. He therefore submitted that the present petition be allowed and the custody of the cash worth Rs.5 lakhs be handed over to the petitioner.
3. Learned APP has opposed the present petitioner contending that the offence punishable under the provisions of the NDPS Act came to be registered against the present petitioner wherein the present petitioner was found in conscious possession of contraband substance of Ganja and was also found in possession of a pocket weight scale which was used for Page 2 of 3 Uploaded by MR.AMIT HEMANTKUMAR SONAGARA(HCD0079) on Wed Nov 19 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 20 01:18:52 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/SCR.A/13329/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/11/2025 undefined commission of the offence in question. The fact that the present petitioner was found in possession of the pocket weight scale indicates that the petitioner was involved in the activity of retail sell of contraband substance of Ganja. He further submitted that the there is a reason to believe that the cash in question was earned by the present petitioner by taking recourse to illegal means. He, therefore, submitted to dismiss the present application.
4. Heard learned Advocates for the parties. As per the case of the prosecution that cash worth Rs.5 lakhs had been recovered from the possession of the present petitioner during the search carried out at the house of the petitioner. There is nothing on record to indicate that the said cash had been earned by the petitioner by involving himself into some illegal means.
5. Having regard to these aspects, the present petition deserves consideration. The cash worth Rs.5 lakhs is ordered to be handed over to the petitioner subject to the petitioner executing a personal bond of the amount of 1.5 times the amount of cash in question.
Rule is made absolute, accordingly. Direct service is permitted.
(M. R. MENGDEY,J) AHS Page 3 of 3 Uploaded by MR.AMIT HEMANTKUMAR SONAGARA(HCD0079) on Wed Nov 19 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Nov 20 01:18:52 IST 2025