(a)The Sub-Inspector in charge of the Court malkhana shall keep a register in B. P. Form No. 100 of all property that he is bound by any law or regulation to take into his possession.(b)When any property is to be given back to the owners, the order for return shall be written in column 10 and the authority sanctioning it shall initial his order. The receipt of the person receiving the property shall be taken in the register in column 14.(c)To avoid harassment, small articles shall be returned to owners through officers-in-charge of police-stations whenever owners express a wish that this should be done. Court officers should ascertain owners' wishes on this point when they come to give evidence. The articles will be sent to police-stations through the monthly pay escorts. The officer-in-charge of the police-station concerned shall obtain the owners' receipt in duplicate, one copy being sent to the Court officer to be filed in the Court malkhana register and the other copy being kept on record at the said police-station. In the case of heavy articles, the District Magistrate shall determine whether the property should be returned to the owners at the expense of the Provincial Government, the cost being met from the Magistrate's contingent grant, or whether the owners should take back their property from the Court. In Sessions cases, where the order of the Sessions Judge is required, the Public Prosecutor shall move the Sessions Judge under section 517 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to pass orders of disposal.(d)When property is no longer required by the Courts, such portion of it as consists of cash, bullion, gold and silver ornaments, or other valuable articles of small compass, shall be deposited in the treasury, articles other than cash being kept in a separate small box in charge of the treasurer.(e)Orders shall be taken to convert perishable unclaimed property into cash at the earliest date the law allows.(f)A list of articles found on the person of an accused by the police shall be forwarded with the case diary or final report of the case in accordance with regulation 322. The articles shall be sent with the prisoner in charge of his escort. Court officers shall report to the Superintendent any breach of this regulation.(g)Court officers shall also see that prisoners hold receipts granted by station officers for such articles.(h)A separate register for red ink entries of pending items, of malkhana register shall be maintained and at the end of each year only the pending items of that particular year shall be entered in it below the entries of the previous year. As soon as a property is disposed of, the pending item shall be struck off from the pending register, as well as from the original register. The Court Inspector at Sadar and the Circle Inspector at the subdivision shall certify that all outstanding entries have been correctly entered in the pending register and the disposed of items struck off. For arms, ammunition, etc., (see Appendix XIV).For arm, ammunition etc., see Appendix XIV.(i)In the case of property which has been proclaimed under section 523 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the date of expiry of the period of proclamation shall be entered in the remarks column of the register, so as to enable the Court officer to obtain orders regarding the disposal of the property.(j)The Court officer shall put up his malkhana register for a thorough inspection once a month by an officer of a rank not lower than that of Deputy Superintendent, at headquarters, and by the Sub-divisional Police Officer or Circle Inspector, as the case may be, at each Sub-divisional headquarters.NOTE. - (i) All Court officers shall be asked to move Magistrates and Sessions Judges when ordering property to be confiscated, etc., to direct that interesting exhibits, such as articles which indicate new methods of committing crime, shall be sent to the Deputy Inspector-General, Criminal Investigation Department, for disposal.(ii)Court officers shall obtain from trying Magistrates orders for the preservation in police custody of fired cartridge cases found at the scene of a dacoity or other crime of violence. These cases shall be kept properly labelled in a box in the Court malkhana for five years.
