Third-party WhatsApp chat cannot, without corroboration, sustain an addition for alleged on-money in a land sale.
An addition for alleged on-money on sale of land could not be sustained where it was based only on a WhatsApp chat recovered from a third party's mobile phone. The message was recorded about a year after the sale, the sender was not examined, no cross-examination was allowed, and no independent inquiry, purchaser evidence, cash trail, or comparable material linked the assessee to any extra consideration. In the absence of corroboration establishing receipt of undisclosed sale proceeds, the presumption drawn from the third-party communication was insufficient. The alleged on-money addition was therefore unsustainable and was deleted.
Issues: Whether the addition made on account of alleged on-money received on sale of land could be sustained on the basis of a WhatsApp chat found from the mobile phone of a third party, without corroborative material linking the assessee to any extra consideration.
Analysis: The addition arose from proceedings under section 153C of the Income-tax Act, 1961, where the Revenue relied primarily on a WhatsApp chat recovered during search under section 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 from a person unconnected with the assessee. The chat was dated about one year after the actual sale, the sender was neither examined nor confronted, no cross-examination was afforded, and no independent inquiry, comparable instance, cash trail, or material from the purchaser was brought on record to show receipt of excess consideration. The alleged market value was thus inferred only by presumption from a third-party message, without corroboration sufficient to displace the recorded sale consideration.
Conclusion: The addition on account of alleged on-money was unsustainable and was rightly deleted; the Revenue's appeal failed.
Ratio Decidendi: An addition for alleged undisclosed sale consideration cannot rest solely on an uncorroborated third-party electronic communication, especially when it is temporally disconnected from the transaction and no material establishes nexus, actual payment, or receipt of on-money.
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