PK SASIDHARAN NAIR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India praying for directions to the respondents not to take any steps for the recovery of the alleged demand of tax and/or interest for the Assessment Year 1992-93 without serving an assessment order upon the petitioner and without following the procedure at law.

(2.) This petition was admitted on 24.10.1996 and an interim order was passed granting interim relief in terms of para 7(B) on condition that the petitioner shall deposit a sum of Rs. 1 lakh and furnish security of the amount of Rs. 1,50,000/- to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Income Tax within two months from the date of the said order. The Court has also made it clear that in case of default of any of the said conditions, the interim relief shall stand vacated automatically.

(3.) The affidavit-in-reply is filed on behalf of the respondent, wherein it is specifically stated that on enquiries made by the office of the Income-tax Officer, Ward 3(1), Ahmedabad,, respondent No. 3 herein, it was found that for certain consideration in return, Shri R.D. Solanki, Peon of his office was induced by Shri Jawahar Gandhi at the instance of the petitioner to take away assessment records of the assessee from the record room. Shri Gandhi happens to be accountant of the petitioner and represented the assessee in the course of assessment proceedings. The petitioner in his statement has admitted that he had authorised Shri Gandhi to represent him in connection with assessment proceedings before the Income-tax Officer. Shri Solanki accompanied with Shri Gandhi on the pillion of latter's scooter took away the records to Shri Gandhi's residence where the original assessment order and other relevant papers were destroyed.