JOSE N J Vs. THAVARAKKATTIL CHANDRI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HAS the civil court jurisdiction to summon assessment orders made under the Income-tax Act for the years 1974-75 and 1975-76 ? This, is the main question that arises for determination in this civil revision petition under Section 115, CPC. Short facts alone are required.

(2.) THE defendant in a suit on accounts is the revision petitioner. THE plaintiff alleged that a partnership business was conducted with the defendant, that the defendant did not account for the profits he earned and thus did not pay the plaintiff his share. THE suit was, therefore, laid to direct the defendant to render accounts and to pay the plaintiff his half share of the profits and for consequential relief. THE defendant refuted his liability, filed his written statement and then moved an independent application to summon the Income-tax Officer to produce the assessment orders of the plaintiff for the years 1974-75 and 1975-76. He stated that it was difficult for him to obtain the certified copy of the order of assessment and that the order would show the amount realised by the plaintiff from his partnership business.

(3.) THE Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, in Section 54 declared that the particulars in any record of any assessment proceeding prepared for the purposes of the Income-tax Act shall be treated as confidential and that, notwithstanding anything contained in the Evidence Act, no court, except as provided in that Act, "be entitled to require any public servant to produce before it any such return, accounts, documents or record or any part of such record, or to give evidence before it in respect thereof". Any disclosure contrary to the Act was punishable with imprisonment. This position continued till April 1, 1962, when the Income-tax Act, 1961, came into force repealing the 1922 Act. THE relevant provisions were contained in Sections 137 and 138 of the new Act and Section 137 read thus :