1. Where, upon information in his possession or otherwise, the Registrar or inspector has reasonable ground to believe that the books and papers of a company, or relating to the key managerial personnel or any director or auditor or company secretary in practice if the company has not appointed a company secretary, are likely to be destroyed, mutilated, altered, falsified or secreted, he may, after obtaining an order from the Special Court for the seizure of such books and papers,
a. enter, with such assistance as may be required, and search, the place or places where such books or papers are kept; and
b. seize such books and papers as he considers necessary after allowing the company to take copies of, or extracts from, such books or papers at its cost.
2. The Registrar or inspector shall return the books and papers seized under subsection (1 ), as soon as may be, and in any case not later than one hundred and eightieth day after such seizure, to the company from whose custody or power such books or papers were seized:
Provided that: the books and papers may be called for by the Registrar or inspector for a further period of one hundred and eighty days by an order in writing if they are needed again:
Provided further that: the Registrar or inspector may, before returning such books and papers as aforesaid, take copies of, or extracts from them or place identification marks on them or any part thereof or deal with the same in such other manner as he considers necessary.
3. The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 relating to searches or seizures shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to every search and seizure made under this section.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 209
Section 209 of the Companies Act, 2013 governs search and seizure of books and papers by the Registrar or an inspector upon obtaining a judicial warrant from the Special Court, establishing procedural safeguards against destruction, alteration, or concealment of corporate records while capping statutory custody periods.
When challenging a Section 209 search and seizure, immediately examine the affidavit filed before the Special Court to verify whether credible, contemporaneous material demonstrated a genuine risk of record destruction. If the search was conducted without a valid Special Court warrant or if seized original records are retained beyond the statutory 180-day ceiling without a judicial extension order, file an application before the Special Court seeking immediate return of books and suppression of unlawfully seized documents.