ITC Limited Vs State of Karnataka & Anr. (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court recently held that in every search conducted under a special enactment without warrant, the requirement of recording reasons to believe is mandatory.
The Court noted that Section 165 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (S.185 BNSS) mandates the recording of reasons for the belief regarding the existence of incriminating materials and the necessity of imminent search, when a search is carried out without warrant. The Court noted that special enactments like the Legal Metrology Act , the Income Tax Act, the Customs Act, the Central Excise Act, the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act etc., mandate the observance of the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure in relation to search and seizure. Hence, the mandate of S.165 CrPC has to be followed.
“In every search conducted under a special enactment without a warrant, the requirement of recording reasons to believe is mandatory. The reasons necessitating the search must be relevant and must reflect application of mind based on some information – either from a third party or personal knowledge – and cannot be based on mere presumption or extraneous considerations. Such reasons cannot rest on mere suspicion or subjective satisfaction; something more substantial is required for a prudent person to conclude that a search and/or seizure is necessary,” the Court observed.
