Unexplained income addition deleted where marriage expenditure claim rested only on an unverified complaint and no corroborative evidence

An estimated addition for unexplained income based solely on an unverified domestic violence complaint was not sustainable where no enquiry or corroborative evidence supported the alleged marriage expenditure. The Assessing Officer made no verification and recorded no statements from the assessee, the daughter, or the son-in-law, so there was no independent material to show that the assessee had incurred the claimed expenditure. On that evidentiary record, the addition was deleted in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the addition of Rs. 28 lakhs as unexplained income for the assessee's daughter's marriage expenditure was sustainable in the absence of supporting evidence and enquiry.

Analysis: The addition rested only on a complaint made in a domestic violence context stating that about Rs. 40 lakhs had been spent on the daughter's marriage. No verification was carried out by the Assessing Officer, nor were statements recorded from the assessee, the daughter, or the son-in-law. No independent material was brought on record to establish that the assessee had in fact incurred expenditure of Rs. 40 lakhs. In these circumstances, the estimated addition could not be sustained.

Conclusion: The addition of Rs. 28 lakhs was deleted and the issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

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