TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (1) TMI 1164
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....Civil) No.505 of 2015. 2. The writ petition has been filed by the Common Cause (A registered Society) and others for issuance of appropriate writ for setting aside the appointment made by the Union of India, of Respondent No.2 Mr. K.V. Chaudhary as Central Vigilance Commissioner and Mr. T.M. Bhasin as Vigilance Commissioner on various grounds as enumerated in the petition, pointing out that these persons are not of impeccable integrity. 3. In I.A. No.3/2016 it is averred that, Central Bureau of Investigation (in short 'the C.B.I.') conducted raid on the premises of Aditya Birla group industries in four cities on 15.10.2013, followed by another raid by the Income Tax Department on the very next day. The raid by the C.B.I. reportedly led to recovery of incriminating documents and unaccounted cash amounting to Rs. 25 crores. It is submitted that C.B.I. transferred the incriminating documents to the Income Tax Department. The laptop of Mr. Shubhendu Amitabh, Group Executive President was seized during the raid. An E-mail dated 16.11.2012 containing a cryptic entry was also recovered from the said laptop referring to political functionaries. When Mr. Amitabh was questioned....
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.... accounted for in the regular books of accounts of Aditya-Birla Group or another company and it is also stated that Mr. Anand Saxena told the Income Tax Department that he was responsible for handling the cash transactions and he had received cash from Mr. Jaluram in the range of Rs. 50,00,000/- (rupees fifty lacs only). Mr. Jaluram is the Angadia, courier of local Hawala operators. However, it was stated that he was not aware about the payment made to anyone and he could not say to whom the unaccounted money had been paid. E-mails dated 2.1.2013, 7.4.2013 and 3.5.2013 have been placed on record. 7. It is further submitted that during the search operation, it was revealed that the proposed payment of Rs. 7.5 crores had been made during the period 9.1.2012 and 2.2.2012 with respect to "Project-J - Environment & Forest", and that 13 projects of the Aditya Birla Group companies had been sanctioned by the Ministry of Environment and Forest between 8.11.2011 and 17.6.2013. The documents - Annexure D is stated to be related to Coal Block of Birla Group of Companies by the Coal Ministry during the aforesaid period. E-mail dated 13.5.2013, relating to MOEF has also been placed on record....
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....nti Bhushan, learned senior counsel has also submitted that in the case of C.B.I. versus V.C. Shukla 1998 (3) SCC 410, this Court has laid down the law as to admissibility of material involved therein after the investigation was over and is of no applicability in this case, at this stage. The allegations which are reflected by the materials collected indicates commission of cognizable offence. Relying upon the decision of this Court in Lalita Kumari versus State of U.P. 2014(2) SCC 1, he urged that it is the bounden duty of the Court to direct investigation and falsity or correctness of the documents has to be seen in course of the investigation. 13. Shri Mukul Rohatgi, learned Attorney General for India and Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned ASG have submitted that the material in question with respect to Sahara Group on the basis of which investigation is sought for, have been found by the Settlement Commission, in proceedings under Section 245D of the Income Tax Act, to be doubtful. The documents which have been filed by the Birla as well as Sahara Group are not in the form of account books maintained in regular course of business. They are random sheets and loose papers and their cor....
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....e the entries are in the books of accounts regularly kept, depending on the nature of occupation, that those are admissible 17. It has further been laid down in V.C. Shukla (Supra) as to the value of entries in the books of account, that such statement shall not alone be sufficient evidence to charge any person with liability, even if they are relevant and admissible, and that they are only corroborative evidence. It has been held even then independent evidence is necessary as to trustworthiness of those entries which is a requirement to fasten the liability. 18. This Court has further laid down in V.C. Shukla (Supra) that meaning of account book would be spiral note book/pad but not loose sheets. The following extract being relevant is quoted here-in-below :- "14. In setting aside the order of the trial court, the High Court accepted the contention of the respondents that the documents were not admissible in evidence under Section 34 with the following words: "An account presupposes the existence of two persons such as a seller and a purchaser, creditor and debtor. Admittedly, the alleged diaries in the present case are not records of the entries arising ou....
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....ound together in a manner which cannot be disturbed or altered except by tearing apart. The binding is of a kind which is not intended to the moveable in the sense of being undone and put together again. A collection of papers in a portfolio, or clip, or strung together on a piece of twine which is intended to be untied at will, would not, in ordinary English, be called a book. ... I think the term 'book' in Section 34 aforesaid may properly be taken to signify, ordinarily, a collection of sheets of paper bound together with the intention that such binding shall be permanent and the papers used collectively in one volume. It is easier however to say what is not a book for the purposes of Section 34, and I have no hesitation in holding that unbound sheets of paper, in whatever quantity, though filled up with one continuous account, are not a book of account within the purview of Section 34." We must observe that the aforesaid approach is in accord with good reasoning and we are in full agreement with it. Applying the above tests it must be held that the two spiral note books (MR 68/91 and MR 71/91) and the two spiral pads (MR 69/91 and MR 70/91) are "books" within the meanin....
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....his claim against another. In Hira Lal v. Ram Rakha the High Court, while negativing a contention that it having been proved that the books of account were regularly kept in the ordinary course of business and that, therefore, all entries therein should be considered to be relevant and to have been proved, said that the rule as laid down in Section 34 of the Act that entries in the books of account regularly kept in the course of business are relevant whenever they refer to a matter in which the Court has to enquire was subject to the salient proviso that such entries shall not alone be sufficient evidence to charge any person with liability. It is not, therefore, enough merely to prove that the books have been regularly kept in the course of business and the entries therein are correct. It is further incumbent upon the person relying upon those entries to prove that they were in accordance with facts." 20. It is apparent from the aforesaid discussion that loose sheets of papers are wholly irrelevant as evidence being not admissible under Section 34 so as to constitute evidence with respect to the transactions mentioned therein being of no evidentiary value. The entire prosecuti....
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....rement of the Indian Evidence Act and are not admissible evidence. It further observed that the department has no evidence to prove that entries in these loose papers and electronic data were kept regularly during the course of business of the concerned business house and the fact that these entries were fabricated, non-genuine was proved. It held as well that the PCIT/DR have not been able to show and substantiate the nature and source of receipts as well as nature and reason of payments and have failed to prove evidentiary value of loose papers and electronic documents within the legal parameters. The Commission has also observed that Department has not been able to make out a clear case of taxing such income in the hands of the applicant firm on the basis of these documents. 23. It is apparent that the Commission has recorded a finding that transactions noted in the documents were not genuine and thus has not attached any evidentiary value to the pen drive, hard disk, computer loose papers, computer printouts. 24. Since it is not disputed that for entries relied on in these loose papers and electronic data were not regularly kept during course of business, such entries wer....
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.... the FIR do not constitute a cognizable offence but constitute only a non-cognizable offence, no investigation is permitted by a police officer without an order of a Magistrate as contemplated under Section 155(2) of the Code. (5) Where the allegations made in the FIR or complaint are so absurd and inherently improbable on the basis of which no prudent person can ever reach a just conclusion that there is sufficient ground for proceeding against the accused. (6) Where there is an express legal bar engrafted in any of the provisions of the Code or the concerned Act (under which a criminal proceeding is instituted) to the institution and continuance of the proceedings and/or where there is a specific provision in the Code or the concerned Act, providing efficacious redress for the grievance of the aggrieved party. (7) Where a criminal proceeding is manifestly attended with mala fide and/or where the proceeding is maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the accused and with a view to spite him due to private and personal grudge. 27. Considering the aforesaid principles which have been laid down, we are of the opinion that the mater....