HC asks Mumbai police to return luxury cars seized for violating prohibitory orders

The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the city police to return 41 luxury cars seized from the BKC area here for allegedly violating prohibitory orders.

The impounded cars include models from Porsche, Mercedes, Ferrari, Audi, Lamborghini, Jaguar and BMW.

A division bench of Justices Anuja Prabhudessai and Nitin Borkar was hearing petitions filed by some of the car owners, seeking that the cars be returned and the First Information Reports registered by the police be quashed as the action violated legal procedures.

The FIRs claimed that an order prohibiting assembly of five or more persons from January 23 to February 2 had been issued ahead of Republic Day.

The cars were to participate in a rally, organised by an event management company to celebrate Republic Day, from Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and back.

The event, expected to feature at least 100 cars, had no permission and breached the prohibitory orders, hence police took preemptive action by seizing the cars before the rally started, police said. The FIRs were registered against the owners and organisers under section 188 (deliberate disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant) and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.

The car owners alleged that the police acted high-handedly and failed to inform them about the prohibitory orders or the lack of permission for the rally.

The court, in its interim order passed on Thursday, directed the police to return the seized cars to their owners and said it would hear the petitioners on quashing of the FIRs in due course of time.