False tax statements and prima facie material can sustain summoning under income-tax prosecution at the threshold.

Section 277 of the Income-tax Act covers not only false verification of a return but also the delivery of a false account or statement. Where the complaint alleged that the accused, acting with common intention to evade tax, filed false balance-sheets and statements, and the record showed their signatures on those documents, the Magistrate was required only to see whether a prima facie case existed at summoning stage. On that material, quashing at the threshold was not justified and the summoning orders were sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the complaints and summoning orders under Section 277 of the Income-tax Act could be quashed on the ground that the returns were verified by one partner alone, when the other partners had signed the balance-sheets and were alleged to have delivered false statements with common intention.

Analysis: Section 277 penalises not only a false verification but also the delivery of a false account or statement. The complaints specifically alleged that all accused, acting with common intention to evade tax, delivered account statements and balance-sheets knowing them to be false and untrue. The record also showed that the petitioners had signed the balance-sheets annexed to the returns. At the stage of summoning, the Magistrate was required only to see whether a prima facie case existed, and the complaint material was sufficient for that purpose.

Conclusion: The challenge to the complaints and summoning orders failed. The petitioners were not entitled to quashing at the threshold, and the orders summoning them were sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: For prosecution under Section 277 of the Income-tax Act, a person may be proceeded against not only for making a false verification but also for delivering a false statement or account, and at the summoning stage the court need only determine whether the complaint discloses a prima facie case.

---