TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (8) TMI 132
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....c Offences, Dhanbad, by one Vijay Bhaskar, Income-tax Officer, Ward No. II(1), Dhanbad, alleging therein that the accused/petitioner Smt. Namita Roy is an assessee having PAN No. ACGPR 3752G and she was an LIC agent. It is alleged that she derived income in the shape of commission from LIC. She filed her income-tax return for the assessment year 2001-02 duly signed by her on September 27, 2001, with the Income-tax Department, disclosing that the total income from all sources was Rs. 45,651 and she claimed a refund of Rs. 21,672 on the basis of TDS certificate of Form No. 16A purported to have been issued by LIC, Chirkunda Branch. In the said TDS certificate; the amount of Rs. 21,672 was shown as deducted at source from LIC commission during....
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....e-tax Act against the petitioner which is under challenge in this application. 5. Mr. Binod Poddar, learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that "mens rea" is an essential ingredient for launching prosecution against a person for commission of the offence under section 277 of the Income-tax Act. If it is shown that there was no mens rea on the part of the accused/assessee then he or she cannot be prosecuted for commission of the offence under section 277 of the Income-tax Act. 6. Mr. Poddar further submitted that it is the specific case of the petitioner, which is not disputed by the Income-tax Department, that no sooner the petitioner received a notice to show cause by the Income-tax Department, as to why the prose....
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.... extend to seven years and with fine; (ii) in any other case, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to three years and with fine." 9. From a bare perusal of the aforementioned provisions, it appears that section 277 of the Income-tax Act contains some crucial words in regard to mens rea of the assessee such as that he either knows or believes to be false, or does not believe to be true. The intention of the Legislature incorporating these words is quite obvious that the prosecution under this section will not follow in every case where a wrong statement is made. It has to be judged as to whether an assessee had the required mens rea for commission of the offence or not. It sho....