Application for Release of Seized Property (Superdari)

IN THE COURT OF [court_name] APPLICATION FOR RELEASE OF SEIZED PROPERTY ON SUPERDARI In FIR / Case No. [case_number], Police Station [police_station] [applicant_name] [applicant_address] ... APPLICANT MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH: 1. THE PROPERTY SEIZED [property_description] The said property was seized by the police on [seizure_date] in connection with the above case. 2. THE APPLICANT'S TITLE [ownership_proof] 3. That the Applicant is the lawful owner of the said property and no other person claims any interest in it. 4. HARDSHIP [hardship] 5. That the property is presently lying in the custody of the police station, where it is exposed to deterioration, depreciation and damage from the weather, serving no purpose to the investigation. 6. That the interests of the prosecution can be fully protected by photographing the property, recording its identifying particulars and taking such security as this Hon'ble Court thinks fit. 7. That the Applicant undertakes to produce the property before this Hon'ble Court as and when directed, not to alienate, transfer or alter it, and to abide by every condition imposed. PRAYER It is therefore most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to release the said property to the Applicant on superdari, on such terms and conditions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit. Place: ______________ Date: [application_date] [applicant_name] APPLICANT Through ______________________ ADVOCATE DOCUMENTS 1. Copy of the FIR and the seizure memo 2. Registration certificate, invoice or other proof of ownership 3. Identity proof of the Applicant ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── APPLY EARLY — PROPERTY DETERIORATES IN A POLICE YARD A vehicle left in a police station compound for a year is worth a fraction of what it was when seized. Courts are alive to this, and the established position is that property should not be retained longer than the investigation genuinely requires, since photographs and a detailed seizure memo preserve the evidentiary value. SUPERDARI IS INTERIM CUSTODY, NOT RETURN OF TITLE. You hold the property on behalf of the court until the case concludes, subject to the conditions imposed — commonly a bond, an undertaking not to sell or alter it, and production when called for. Breaching those conditions can mean forfeiture of the bond and re-seizure. BRING OWNERSHIP DOCUMENTS. For a vehicle: the registration certificate, insurance and invoice. For a phone or laptop: the invoice and the IMEI or serial number. The commonest reason these applications fail is that the applicant cannot show the property is theirs. IF THE PROPERTY IS A STOLEN ITEM RECOVERED from someone else, the person from whom it was recovered may also claim it. The court decides between competing claims, so file promptly rather than assuming your claim will keep. WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, release may be conditional on the insurer's survey being completed first.