Reassessment pending does not bar tax evasion prosecution; criminal trial may only be postponed in limited cases.

Pendency of reassessment proceedings does not create a legal bar to criminal prosecution for alleged tax evasion under the Income-tax Act, and the criminal court must decide the case independently on the evidence before it. In an appropriate case, the court may postpone or adjourn the hearing under section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 if income-tax proceedings are imminent and may affect the criminal case, but there is no rigid rule requiring an indefinite stay. The request for a blanket stay was rejected, and the criminal proceedings were directed to continue, subject to a later application for postponement if circumstances justified it.

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Issues: Whether the criminal trial for offences under the Income-tax Act should be stayed pending completion of reassessment proceedings.

Analysis: The complaint alleged wilful attempt to evade tax and prosecution had already been launched. The pendency of reassessment proceedings does not create a legal bar to criminal prosecution, and the criminal court must decide the matter independently on the evidence before it. The court may, in an appropriate case, exercise discretion to adjourn or postpone the hearing under section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 if the income-tax proceedings are imminent and may bear on the case, but there is no rigid rule requiring the criminal trial to be stayed indefinitely or for an unduly long period.

Conclusion: The request to stay the criminal trial was rejected. The trial was directed to proceed expeditiously, with liberty to seek postponement of the final decision only at a later stage if circumstances then justified it.

Final Conclusion: The petitions were dismissed and the criminal proceedings were allowed to continue without a blanket stay pending reassessment.

Ratio Decidendi: Pendency of reassessment proceedings does not bar criminal prosecution for tax evasion, though the criminal court retains a limited discretion to postpone proceedings in an appropriate case under section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

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