Proof of false tax return allegations failed where alleged documents and admissions were not legally established; acquittal upheld.

Prosecution for alleged filing of a false income-tax return and false supporting statements failed because the foundational evidence was not legally proved. The alleged dasti bahi was not satisfactorily shown to have been recovered, as the recovery rested on solitary testimony without a seizure memo or independent corroboration, and no witness who wrote the entries or could identify the handwriting was examined. The signed applications also did not prove the truth of their contents, since signature alone does not amount to admission of the contents and those contents were not put to the accused in examination. The alleged fabrication of accounts and false declaration was therefore not established, and the acquittal under section 277 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and section 193 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the respondents had filed a false income-tax return and false supporting statements so as to attract liability under section 277 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and section 193 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Analysis: The prosecution relied principally on a dasti bahi allegedly recovered from the business premises and on applications said to contain admissions. The recovery itself was not satisfactorily proved, there being only solitary testimony without seizure memo or independent corroboration. Even otherwise, the contents of the dasti bahi were not legally proved, as no witness who wrote the entries or could identify the handwriting was examined. The applications signed by Mohan Lal also did not establish the truth of their contents, because admission of signature does not amount to admission of the contents of the document, and those contents were not put to the accused in examination. On this record, the alleged fabrication of accounts and false declaration was not established.

Conclusion: The charges under section 277 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and section 193 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 were not proved, and the acquittal was correctly upheld.

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