1975 (7) TMI 35

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....sections 193 and 196 of the Indian Penal Code. The first accused is a firm and accused Nos. 2 to 7 are its partners. In paragraph 2 of the complaint it is stated as follows : " The complaint is filed at the instance of the Commissioner of Income-tax, Kerala-II, Ernakulam, and a copy of the authorisation under section 279 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, is herewith filed." The petitioners filed an application before the court below under section 245(2) and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974), for short the Code, for their discharge, on the ground that the cognizance of offence under sections 193 and 196 of the Penal Code is barred under section 468(2)(c) of the Code. The Chief judicial Magistrate passed an order on....

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....hat the petitioners had concealed particulars of their income as contemplated under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, for short " the Act ". Notices were issued to the petitioners directing them to pay penalty as provided for under section 271(1)(iii) of the Act. Thereafter, this prosecution was launched under section 277 of the Act. The original authority for imposition of penalty under the Act is the Income-tax Officer. Sometimes the Income-tax Officer refers the case to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner for the purpose of imposition of penalty. This is provided for in section 274(2) of the Act. This is when concealment exceeds a sum of Rs. 25,000. In this case, the concerned Income-tax Officer referred the case to the In....

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....of acts so connected together as to form the same transaction. I do not think any argument is necessary to repel this contention since the ingredients of the offence under section 277 of the Act, to a large extent, overlap the ingredients of sections 193 and 196 of the Penal Code, and, therefore, they are connected together to form the same transaction and can be tried at one trial under section 220 of the Code. The third argument advanced is that the prosecution is barred by limitation. The argument is based on the new section 468(2) of the Code. Section 468 reads as follows : " 468. Bar to taking cognizance after lapse of the period of limitation :-- (1) Except as otherwise provided elsewhere in this Code, no court shall take cogniz....

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.... be taken cognizance of by the court having jurisdiction as if the provisions of that Chapter were not enacted. " Schedule to section 2 of the Act contains various enactments, including the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, and the Income-tax Act, 1961. Section 468 occurs in Chapter XXXVI of the Code. Clause (i) of section 2 of the above Act states that the provisions of Chapter XXXVI shall not apply to enactments contained in the Schedule. Clause (ii) of section 2 says that the provisions of Chapter XXXVI shall not apply to any other offence which under the provisions of that Code may be tried along with such offence. It is, therefore, clear that section 468 will not apply to a prosecution under the Income-tax Act, 1961. The second limb o....

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....successfully agitated only with reference to materials to be placed before the trial court, at the appropriate stage. This question is, therefore, left open. Not contented with the above question of law, the petitioners' counsel urged in addition that the complaint filed by the Income-tax Officer, F-Ward, is not competent since the return was submitted to the Income-tax Officer, E-Ward. Section 195(1)(b)(i) of the Code states that no court shall take cognisance of any offence' punishable under sections 193 to 196, 199, etc .......... when such offence is alleged to have been committed in respect of a document produced or given in evidence in a proceeding, except on the complaint in writing of that court or of some other court to which th....