Revised return does not erase original false return, and criminal prosecution may proceed where prima facie concealment is alleged.

A revised return filed before completion of assessment does not automatically erase an earlier false return or bar criminal prosecution under the Income-tax Act and the Penal Code. Where the original return and supporting accounts disclose prima facie false particulars, concealment, or a wilful attempt to evade tax, the subsequent revision is only a relevant circumstance and does not confer immunity from penalty or prosecution. The question whether the taxpayer acted by mistake or knowingly furnished a false return is a matter for trial, so criminal proceedings should not be quashed at the threshold on that basis.

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Issues: Whether the filing of a revised return before completion of assessment wipes out the original false return so as to bar criminal prosecution under the Income-tax Act and the Indian Penal Code.

Analysis: A revised return under section 139(5) of the Income-tax Act does not obliterate the original return or erase the earlier concealment if the original return contained false particulars. The subsequent revised return may be relevant to the overall facts, but it does not confer immunity from penalty or prosecution where the initial return and accompanying statement of accounts were allegedly false and the materials disclose a prima facie wilful attempt to evade tax and furnish false verification. The question whether the petitioner acted through mistake or knowingly filed a false return was held to be a matter for trial and not for quashing proceedings.

Conclusion: The prosecution was held maintainable and the petition for quashing failed.

Final Conclusion: The Court declined to interfere with the criminal proceedings, holding that a revised return does not by itself nullify the legal effect of an original false return where the allegations disclose prima facie offences.

Ratio Decidendi: A revised return filed before assessment does not, by itself, wipe out the earlier false return or bar criminal prosecution where the original return and related statements disclose a prima facie offence.

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