2004 (1) TMI 38

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....al Case No. 683/02 of 2002 registered on the basis of the complaint filed by the petitioner under sections 276C and 277 read with section 278B of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act"), with regard to the assessment year 1988-89. Non-petitioner No. 1 is a registered firm and is deriving income from purchase and sale of gur and sugar. Non-petitioners Nos. 2 and 3 were partners in non-petitioner No. 1 having equal snares. For the assessment year 1988-89, the return of income was filed on behalf of respondent No. 1 on August 29, 1988, declaring an income of Rs. 38,584. The assessment was completed on December 28,1988. Non-petitioner No. 2-Joginder Pal had signed the verification portion of the return as a partner of the accused fir....

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....991, they could not be held guilty of concealment of income or furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income. Dr. N. L. Sharda, learned counsel for the petitioner, argued that the trial court committed a serious illegality by acquitting the non-petitioners only on the ground that the Tribunal had set aside the order of penalty. He argued that the Revenue has not accepted the decision of the Tribunal and filed appeal under section 260A of the Act before the High Court and, therefore, that decision could not have been made the basis for acquitting the non-petitioners. In support of his arguments, Dr. Sharda relied on the judgments of the apex court in P. Jayappan v. S. K. Perumal, First ITO [1984] 149 ITR 696 and K. T. M. S. Mohammed v. U....

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.... The assessee filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court and it was in that context, that their Lordships observed that the criminal court no doubt has to give due regard to the result of any proceeding under the Act having a bearing on the question in issue and, in an appropriate case, it may drop the proceedings in the light of an order passed under the Act. It was further observed that it did not, however, mean that the result of the proceeding under the Act would be binding on the criminal court. In our opinion, the decision of P. Jayappan's case [1984] 149 ITR 696 (SC) has no bearing on the present case, inasmuch as, there, even the assessment had not been completed at the time of filing of the petition under section 48....

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.... an appropriate case the criminal court may adjourn or postpone the hearing of a criminal case in exercise of its discretionary power under section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure if the disposal of any proceeding under the Act which has a bearing on the proceedings before it is imminent so that it may take also into consideration the order to be passed therein. Even here the discretion should be exercised judicially and in such a way as not to frustrate the object of the criminal proceedings. There is no rigid rule which makes it necessary for a criminal court to adjourn or postpone the hearing of a case before it indefinitely or for an unduly long period only because some proceeding which may have some bearing on it is pending elsew....