TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2005 (12) TMI 50
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....urt) at Madras to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and also to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months. Aggrieved against this order, the accused preferred an appeal before the Madras High Court at Chennai and the learned single judge of the Madras High Court acquitted the accused of the aforesaid charges. Hence, the present appeal filed by the State of Tamil Nadu through the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai. The accused, Inbasagaran, obtained B.E. Hons. degree and joined Indian Navy as an officer during 1965. Later on he entered the Indian Administrative Service during 1970 and was allotted the Tamil Nadu cadre. During 1982 he went to America for studies along with his wife and children. He worked in various capacities under the Government of Tamil Nadu, like Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Chemical Products, Chairman of Tamil Nadu Leather Corporation and lastly he was appointed as a Secretary to the Health Department. According to the prosecution on September 13, 1993, and on September 14, 1993, there was a raid by the income-tax authorities in the house of the accused.....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s of his wife who was running certain companies. According to him, his wife accompanied him when he went to America where she worked in a pharmaceutical company and also as a clerk in the State Bank of India and she earned salaries and was also assessed by the Income-tax Department in America. At the time of her return from America, she brought cash, video camera and a computer. Video camera and computer were revenue earning assets, his wife leased out the video camera for marriage coverage and earned sufficient monies. She had started a computer concern under the name and style of Tamil Nadu Computer Service by incurring a loan of Rs. 2,00,000 by Punjab National Bank. The computer centre also generated funds. It was also stated that apart from this, his wife had floated three concerns one in the name and style of A.V.J. Marketing Service, a proprietary concern of her own which was having franchise for sale of hypodermic needles in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, another in the name and style of M/s. Southern Rims P. Ltd. which was manufacturing cycle rims and another company in the name of M/s. Silver Shoes P. Ltd. which was manufacturing shoe uppers. It was alleged that she was di....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... of the accused was not in the exclusive possession of the accused. So far as Rs. 1 lakh found on the dining table is concerned, it belonged to one Girish Davey who appeared in the witness box as PW 46 and was representative of pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy, and the learned single judge of the High Court also held that Rs. 1 lakh kept in plastic bag and two packets of sweets found on the dining table at the time of raid, belonged to Girish and it did not belong to the accused. The learned single judge also found that since the entire money has been admitted by his wife who had come in witness box as DW-12 and admitted that she earned this money by selling cycle rims and leather shoe uppers without any bill and this money belonged to her and she had made a clean breast before the income-tax authority and thereby she had accepted this unaccounted money as belonging to her. Therefore, the learned single judge held that this unaccounted money did not belong to the accused. So far as the recovery of the $1,118 is concerned, the learned single judge found the explanation satisfactory and his son-in-law has been found to be guilty by foreign exchange authorities and fined. Likewise, the....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....n the dining table and it was recovered from the dining table. In fact this money was brought for gratification to raise the purchase price of the medicine, "Fortwin" which was manufactured by the company of which Girish Davey was one of the senior representatives. Learned counsel for the appellant invited our attention to the following decisions of this court. (i) C.S.D. Swami v. State AIR 1960 SC 7; (ii) State of Maharashtra v. Wasudeo Ramchandra Kaidalwar [1981] 3 SCC 199; (iii) State of Maharashtra v. Pollonji Darabshaw Daruwalla AIR 1988 SC 88; (iv) K.Veeraswami v. Union of India [1991] 3 SCC 655; (v) P. Nallammal v. State represented by Inspector of Police [1999] 6 SCC 559. As against this, learned counsel for the respondent as well as the respondent in person have submitted that the act of recovery of the money, the deposits in the bank and purchase of the property is not disputed but the question is whether it was in the possession of the accused or not? It was pointed out that in fact all the money belonged to his wife as she was running three companies and she had admitted that out of the unaccounted sale of rims of cycle as well as the leather shoe uppers without ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s branches of Punjab National Bank at Bangalore and he has examined all the senior managers of Punjab National Bank to show that various amounts were deposited in their banks and the prosecution has also produced them in the witness box to substantiate their allegation as P Ws. 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 32. He has also examined the persons against whose names those amounts were deposited in the witness box. He has also examined the Income-tax Officer as PW14, PW44-Assistant Director of Income-tax (Investigation) and PW51- S. Ganapathy Iyer. By this evidence the prosecution has established that the money was recovered at the house of the accused as well as various purchases of immovable properties made by the wife of the accused. The prosecution has tried to establish that all the moneys which had been recovered from the house of the accused, various deposits in the Punjab National Bank at various places through the influence of the Regional Manager of Punjab National Bank and the recovery of the gold ornaments as well as the recovery of foreign exchange, i.e., dollars, belong to the accused. Thus, the prosecution has tried to establish that all the moneys belonged to the accused and a....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....w has also admitted. Likewise, DW8-her son-in-law, Thiru S. Rajasankar, also appeared in the witness box and admitted that he has also saved certain foreign exchange when he had gone on various visits abroad. He has also admitted to have carried some money to be deposited in the bank. The accused has also come forward in the witness box as DW13 and has deposed that all the moneys belonged to his wife and when he came to know about the unaccounted money at his house, he gave a piece of his mind to her. He has admitted that on one or two occasions money was carried by himself to be deposited in the account in Punjab National Bank and some money was also deposited on account of some of the members of the family by PW8, S. Rajasankar, son-in-law. Therefore, under these circumstances, the respondent has explained the possession of unaccounted money. Now, in this background, when the accused has come forward with the plea that all the money which has been recovered from his house and purchase of real estate or the recovery of the gold and other deposits in the bank, all have been owned by his wife, then in that situation how can all these recoveries of unaccounted money be laid in his h....