https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=788974 Electronic material retrieved from seized mobile devices cannot sustain search-assessment additions without reliable proof of authenticity, continuity of custody, compliant extraction and production procedures, and adequate independent corroboration. Screenshots, WhatsApp chats and images treated as secondary evidence lacked sufficient evidentiary credibility where the handling of working copies and relied-upon outputs was not established; the additions were therefore unsustainable. Prior approval under section 153D must involve meaningful, year-specific consideration of draft assessments and the material relied on. Bare approval letters showing no engagement with critical digital-evidence issues constitute mechanical sanction and are invalid. The assessments were set aside, with the assessee's appeals succeeding and the Revenue's appeals failing. en-us Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 07:51:07 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=788974 Electronic material retrieved from seized mobile devices cannot sustain search-assessment additions without reliable proof of authenticity, continuity of custody, compliant extraction and production procedures, and adequate independent corroboration. Screenshots, WhatsApp chats and images treated as secondary evidence lacked sufficient evidentiary credibility where the handling of working copies and relied-upon outputs was not established; the additions were therefore unsustainable. Prior approval under section 153D must involve meaningful, year-specific consideration of draft assessments and the material relied on. Bare approval letters showing no engagement with critical digital-evidence issues constitute mechanical sanction and are invalid. The assessments were set aside, with the assessee's appeals succeeding and the Revenue's appeals failing. Case-Laws Income Tax Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=788974