PRAVEEN SAXENA Vs. JCIT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE above caption appeals have been preferred by the assessee and the Revenue against the order of CIT (Appeals) -XXVI, New Delhi, vide order dated 30.06.2010 in Appeal No. 291/09 -10 for the Assessment Year 2007 -08.

(2.) THE assessee has raised 4 grounds in this appeal but ground no. 1 & 4 are general in nature, remaining two effective grounds read as under:

(3.) THE ld. Departmental Representative (DR) placed reliance on the decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of CIT Vs. H. Hirjee : (1953) 23 ITR 427 (SC); and decision of Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court of Delhi in the case of CIT Vs. Chaman Lal & Brothers : (1970) 77 ITR 383 (Del.) and submitted that the impugned claim expenses have been incurred by the assessee to defend himself in a criminal case in which the assessee was arrested for the change of evasion of Custom Duty which is certainly out of ambit of his business or profession activities and expenditure so incurred cannot be deducted as business expenditure in the computation of business income of the assessee. The ld. DR relying on the decision of Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of CIT vs. Chaman Lal (Supra) strongly contended that the expenditure incurred by a firm carrying on export and import business in defending one of its partners for having acquire foreign exchange and not fully utilizing it for import were held not allowable, even when the partner was ultimately acquitted.