Seized vehicles pile at Indian police stations

A May 22 post by NewsArenaIndia showing rows of two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws and cars stacked at Indian police compounds captured a problem that police departments and courts in India have been describing for years. The images circulated on X as fresh evidence of a backlog of seized and abandoned vehicles that remain in station yards and adjoining lots long after cases stall or owners fail to claim them. Indian courts and police manuals already provide a route for disposal. Section 503 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — the criminal procedure law that replaced the old Code of Criminal Procedure — allows a magistrate to order disposal or delivery of seized property when it is not needed before a criminal court. A 2002 Supreme Court judgment in *Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai v. State of Gujarat* warned that vehicles left in police custody “become junk day by day.” ### Why do so many vehicles end up inside police compounds? Police stations in India store what are commonly called *muddamal* vehicles — property seized during investigations, traffic enforcement, accidents, theft cases or abandonment. The Bureau of Police Research and Development’s malkhana management report defines the police station storage area as the place where seized property is kept for safe custody and later production before a magistrate or court. Section 503 of the BNSS says that once police report a seizure, a magistrate may decide whether the property should be returned, retained or disposed of if it is not being produced during an inquiry or trial. That means the legal framework exists, but each vehicle’s status can depend on ownership disputes, insurance claims, pending prosecutions and court permissions. ### What have courts said about vehicles rotting in police yards? (bprd.nic.in) The Supreme Court in *Sunderbhai Ambalal Desai* said police stations should not be used to hold seized property for long periods and recorded the state’s submission that unattended vehicles were becoming junk in station premises. The court said magistrates should act promptly so property is not wasted and police are not burdened with long-term storage. (indiankanoon.org) That language still appears in later reporting and court-driven clean-up efforts. The Times of India reported on May 22 that Noida police said auction delays stem from legal and administrative factors, including vehicles tied to court cases, and one senior official said that by the time clearances arrive, many vehicles are already fit only for scrap. (indiankanoon.org) ### Is this only a social-media snapshot, or are recent cases documented? The Hindu reported on February 26 that thousands of seized vehicles were lying inside Bengaluru police stations and even on footpaths outside them, raising fire and safety concerns. The report described the accumulation as citywide rather than limited to one compound. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Hindustan Times reported last month that a backlog of seized and abandoned vehicles was also affecting operations at state transport sites in Pune, while the Times of India reported in August 2025 that Punjab and Haryana High Court directions had pushed Ludhiana police to begin disposing of thousands of unclaimed vehicles. Those reports point to the same bottleneck across multiple jurisdictions. (thehindu.com) ### What actually clears the backlog? Auctions are one route. The Indian Express reported in February that Mohali police earned 3.658 million rupees by auctioning 351 seized vehicles across eight police stations in a special drive held on January 28, 29 and 30, citing Senior Superintendent of Police Harmandeep Singh Hans. The Ministry of Home Affairs told Parliament in a 2022 Rajya Sabha reply that states and union territories were being encouraged to use transparent systems for managing seized property kept in police malkhanas. (hindustantimes.com) The BPR&D has separately proposed digital malkhana management systems to track custody and disposal. ### What should readers watch next? Local magistrates and police commissioners will determine whether the vehicles shown on May 22 move toward release, auction or scrappage. (indianexpress.com) The next public markers are usually district police notices, court directions and auction announcements like the January Mohali drive or the court-linked disposal efforts reported in Noida and Ludhiana. (mha.gov.in)