1970 (5) TMI 6

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....regard to its income and assets. On September 17, 1964, the Income-tax Officer submitted to the Commissioner of Income-tax a report requesting that he be authorised to enter and search the premises of the assessee. The Commissioner by his order dated September 19, 1964, authorised entry and search after recording reasons for his belief that it was necessary to carry out the search. On September 21 and 22, 1964, the premises of the assessee were searched and a large number of documents were seized and were taken away to the income-tax office. The income-tax office also prepared inventories of the ornaments and other goods kept in the premises searched. After the seizure of the books of account and other documents the case was fixed for heari....

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....were not placed on the documents in spite of the direction contained in the letters of authorisation ; and (6) The documents seized during the raid were detained by the Income-tax Officers for 19 months before the petition was filed. In the view of the High Court the circumstances of the case indicated that the Commissioner of Income-tax and the Income-tax Officers acted beyond "the legitimate scope of section 132 of the Act and there was force in the complaint of the assessee that the opposite parties carried out indiscriminate search which constituted abuse of power conferred on income-tax authorities by section 132 of the Act." In reaching its conclusion, the High Court relied upon the judgment of the Allahabad High Court in Seth B....

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....eding is liable to be quashed... The Act and the Rules do not require that the warrant of authorisation should specify the particulars of documents and books of account. A general authorisation to search for and seize documents and books of account relevant to or useful for any proceeding complies with the requirements of the Act and the Rules. It is for the officer making the search to exercise his judgment and seize or not to seize any documents or books of account ... The aggrieved party may undoubtedly move a competent court for an order releasing the documents seized. In such a proceeding the officer who has made the search will be called upon to prove how the documents seized are likely to be useful for or relevant to a proceedi....

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....etaining the same are recorded by him in writing and the approval of the Commissioner for such retention is obtained :....." By the Finance Act of 1965, sub-section (2) was re-enacted by sub-section (8) with the modification that for the words "Inspecting Assistant Commissioner or the Income-tax Officer" the words "authorised officer" be substituted. In the present case the premises of the assessee were searched on September 21 and 22, 1964, and the documents were retained till May, 1966, i.e., for a period of 19 months. Our attention has not been invited to any order of the authorities recording reasons for retaining the documents seized after the expiry of 180 days, nor is there any approval of the Commissioner for retaining such do....