Inspection of tax-reference records may be allowed to a non-party with a conceivable interest, while copies require separate proceedings.

A non-party with a conceivable interest in related litigation may be permitted to inspect tax-reference records where earlier judicial remarks have probative value and the inspection is confined to the record itself. The special advisory nature of the tax reference and the inapplicability of the old appellate-side rule do not oust the court's power to regulate access to records in its custody under its general procedural authority, including Clause 37 of the Letters Patent and Section 122 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. On that basis, inspection of the printed paper book and typed set was allowed, while any request for copies or for production of documents had to be pursued separately in the proper proceeding.

---

---

Issues: Whether a non-party to a tax reference, who claims a conceivable interest in the subject matter of related pending proceedings, is entitled to inspect the records of that reference; and whether the court could grant such inspection notwithstanding objections based on the special nature of the tax jurisdiction and the inapplicability of the old appellate-side rule.

Analysis: The request for inspection was confined to the records of the tax case and did not extend, at that stage, to copies of documents. The petitioner-firm was not a party to the tax reference, but the court found that remarks in the earlier judgment had been relied upon in collateral litigation and could be used as having probative value under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. That gave the firm a conceivable interest in examining the material on which those remarks were based. The special advisory character of the tax reference under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, and the argument that Rule 65 of the Appellate Side Rules was inapplicable, were held not to defeat the court's power to regulate access to records in its custody under its general procedural authority, including Clause 37 of the Letters Patent and Section 122 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Conclusion: The firm was entitled to inspect the printed paper book and typed set forming part of the tax-case record, but any request for copies or for sending for documents had to be made separately in the appropriate proceeding.

---