Irregular search material may still support assessment, so seized books can be retained until final assessment is complete.

Account books and documents seized in a search that did not comply with Section 165 CrPC were treated as prima facie irregular, but the material was still usable for assessment. The court held that the revenue could retain the seized records while they were required to complete assessment proceedings, and that assessment is not final until the appellate and revisional process ends. A writ of mandamus for immediate return of the seized books was therefore not maintainable while the records remained necessary for assessment.

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Issues: Whether account books and documents seized during a search not conducted in compliance with Section 165 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were required to be returned immediately, or could be retained by the revenue until assessment proceedings attained finality.

Analysis: The seizure was treated as prima facie irregular because the safeguards under Section 165 of the Code of Criminal Procedure had not been followed. However, the Court held that material seized in such a search was not rendered unusable for assessment purposes. Relying on the earlier view that incriminating material obtained in an inchoate or irregular search could still support assessment proceedings, the Court held that the revenue could lawfully retain the seized books and records so long as they were required for completion of assessment. The Court further held that assessment does not attain finality until the entire appellate and revisional process is over, and therefore continued retention pending final assessment was not unlawful.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to a writ of mandamus for immediate return of the seized account books, and the revenue was entitled to retain them until completion and finality of the assessment process.

Ratio Decidendi: Material seized in an irregular or inchoate search may still be used for assessment, and a writ of mandamus for its return will not lie while the records are legitimately required for completion of assessment proceedings.

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