Release, sale and restoration of attached property
Section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 deals with release, sale and restoration of attached property. If the proclaimed person appears within the time specified in the proclamation, the Court shall make an order releasing the property from the attachment. The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1974. Repealed by section 531 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (46 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) If the proclaimed person appears within the time specified in the proclamation, the Court shall make an order releasing the property from the attachment.
(2) If the proclaimed person does not appear within the time specified in the proclamation, the property under the attachment shall be at the disposal of the State Government; but it shall not be sold until the expiration of six months from the date of the attachment and until any claim preferred or objection made under section 84 has been disposed under that section, unless it is subject to speedy and natural decay, or the Court considers that the sale would be for the benefit of the owner ; in either of which cases the Court may cause it to be sold whenever it thinks fit.
(3) If, within two years from the date of the attachment, any person whose property is or has been at the disposal of the State Government, under sub-section (2), appears voluntarily or is apprehended and brought before the Court by whose order the property was attached, or the Court to which such Court is subordinate, and proves to the satisfaction of such Court that he did not abscond or conceal himself for the purpose of avoiding execution of the warrant, and that he had not such notice of the proclamation as to enable him to attend within the time specified therein, such property, or, if the same has been sold, the net proceeds of the sale, or, if part only thereof has been sold, the net proceeds of the sale and the
residue of the property, shall, after satisfying therefrom all costs incurred in consequence of the attachment, be delivered to him.
Section 85, The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
Now in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
BNSS 88 Release, sale and restoration of attached property Text carried over almost unchanged 100%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Subhash vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Once an absconding accused appears before the court and faces trial, the purpose of property attachment under Section 82 CrPC is achieved and the attached property must be released, regardless of whether the application for release is technically time-barred under Section 85(3) CrPC, particularly when the accused was genuinely unaware of the proceedings due to being out of the country. The purpose of Section 82 CrPC is limited to securing the attendance of the accused, not to punish him or permanently deprive him of property. Once this purpose is achieved through the accused's appearance and trial, substantive justice requires that the property be restored to the accused, even if he has been acquitted.
On this section: Release of attached property. Court held that while Section 85(3) prescribes a two-year time limit for applications, this should not be applied rigidly when the accused was genuinely unaware of proceedings and later appears before the court.
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Chandra Kanta Bartar vs State of Uttarakhand
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When statutory remedies are available under the Criminal Procedure Code for challenging attachment of property (Sections 84, 85, and 86), a writ petition under Article 226 is not the appropriate remedy, and the petitioner must first exhaust these statutory remedies before approaching the High Court through writ jurisdiction.
On this section: Deals with release, sale and restoration of attached property; cited as the mechanism for obtaining restoration of property
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… the Government may make a report in writing of the fact, namely of the abscondence of the person concerned, to a Metropolitan Magistrate, or a Magistrate of the First Class having jurisdiction in the place where the said person ordinarily resides and thereupon the provisions of Sections 82, 83, 84 and 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply in respect of such person and his property as if the order directing that he be detained, is a warrant issued by a Magistrate. The second step that the Government could take was to notify an order in the official gazette directing the said person to appear before such …
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… the Government may make a report in writing of the fact, namely of the abscondence of the person concerned, to a Metropolitan Magistrate, or a Magistrate of the First Class having jurisdiction in the place where the said person ordinarily resides and thereupon the provisions of Sections 82, 83, 84 and 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply in respect of such person and his property as if the order directing that he be detained, is a warrant issued by a Magistrate. The second step that the Government could take was to notify an order in the official gazette directing the said person to appear before such …
Questions about Section 85
What have the courts held on Section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
Subhash vs State (24 Apr 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Release of attached property. Court held that while Section 85(3) prescribes a two-year time limit for applications, this should not be applied rigidly when the accused was genuinely unaware of proceedings and later appears before the court. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2016 to 2017.
How do I find court cases under Section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: CRPC 85, section 85 CRPC, section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Subhash vs State (24 Apr 2017).
What should I read with Section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 84 (Claims and objections to attachment), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNSS 88 (Release, sale and restoration of attached property), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure come into force?
Section 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited as CRPC 85, came into force on 01 Apr 1974, having been enacted on 25 Jan 1974. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 320. Compounding of offences1554 words
- 167. Procedure when investigation cannot be completed in twenty four hours1005 words
- 220. Trial for more than one offence962 words
- 360. Order to release on probation of good conduct or after admonition804 words
- 2. Definitions799 words
- 198. Prosecution for offences against marriage774 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 330a1099-77ad-4a2e-b22a-769b33398f9e). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.