The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the police do not have the power to seize immoveable properties of an accused during the course of investigation. The court’s direction came on an appeal filed by the Maharashtra government challenging a Bombay High Court order.

The order came from a bench comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna which however stated that the police have the powers to freeze the moveable properties of the accused. The appeal was related a 2010 judgment of the High Court in which a majority of the full bench of the HC held that the police have no powers to seize immoveable properties during the course of the investigations.  The Maharashtra government had gone in appeal against the order.

—India Legal Bureau