Cheema & Ors v Nottingham and Newark Magistrates’ Court [2013] EWHC 4022 (Admin)

This judicial review concerned a substantial fraud investigation in which the issuing and execution of a search warrant lay at the heart of the prosecution’s endeavour. Under rigorous examination, the Defendants conceded that the searches and seizures had not complied with the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
The court held the warrant to be unlawful, quashed it, and ordered that seized materials be returned absent a lawful section 59 retention.
The judgment is of lasting importance, reasserting that the state’s power to intrude upon private property is strictly conditional, and must be exercised with precision, specificity, and unimpeachable legality. It reinforces a constitutional principle as old as the common law itself: intrusive powers may not rest upon vague or carelessly drafted warrants.