David Pradeepan Saundaranayagam vs .The Officer-in-Charge, Unit 5, Criminal Investigations Department – CA/PHC/APN/0159/2019-2024

In the case between David Pradeepan Saundaranayagam (petitioner) and Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC (respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the High Court erred in reversing a prior Magistrate’s Court order regarding the custody and conditional release of three seized vehicles linked to a cheating complaint. It was held that while the High Court acted appropriately in its revision capacity, the unconditional release of vehicles to the respondent company was not proper. The principle reaffirmed is that, under Sections 425 and 431 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, parties are entitled to possess property seized in criminal proceedings only subject to adequate safeguards pending final adjudication. The decision relied on statutory requirements for safeguarding inte