Tax evasion complaints cannot be quashed unless tax proceedings conclusively ermine the facts forming the prosecution basis.

Criminal complaints alleging tax evasion, false vouchers and inflated expenses cannot be quashed merely because tax proceedings later end in settlement, remand or reassessment. The Settlement Commission's order in an individual proceeding did not grant immunity from prosecution and did not decide the specific factual allegations underlying the complaints. The Tribunal's remand order and the reassessment order likewise did not conclusively displace the prosecution basis. Criminal courts must assess the complaint independently, though tax adjudication orders may be relevant where they directly determine the disputed facts. On that footing, the complaints were held not liable to quashing.

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Issues: Whether criminal complaints alleging tax evasion and allied offences could be quashed on the basis of the Settlement Commission's order, the Tribunal's remand order, and the subsequent reassessment order.

Analysis: The complaints alleged fabrication of false vouchers, false accounting entries, and a wilful attempt to evade income-tax. The Settlement Commission's order was rendered in an individual proceeding and did not grant immunity from prosecution; it also did not decide the specific allegations in the complaints that the accused had used false vouchers and inflated expenses to suppress income. The Tribunal's and reassessing authority's later orders likewise did not record any finding that directly displaced the factual basis of the criminal complaints. The criminal court is required to judge the allegations independently, though it may give due regard to tax adjudication orders where they actually bear on the disputed facts. Here, no such direct bearing was shown.

Conclusion: The complaints were not liable to be quashed; the petitions failed and were dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: A criminal complaint for tax offences cannot be quashed merely because subsequent tax proceedings result in settlement, remand, or reassessment, unless those proceedings conclusively determine the very facts forming the foundation of the prosecution.

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