JINKAL DINESHBHAI VIRVADIYA Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has challenged an order dated 16.12.2013 as at Annexure A to the petition, passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Palanpur. Brief facts are as under: On an information received from Dariapur Police Station by the investigating team of the Income-tax Department that the petitioner was detained by the police with cash of Rs. 32.64 lakhs (rounded off), the Department issued authorization under section 132A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and seized such cash. Contending that such authorization was wholly illegal, the petitioner filed Special Civil Application No. 15274 of 2013. Such petition came to be disposed by this Court by order dated 19.11.2013, in which it was provided as under:

(2.) Pursuant to such order, the Assistant Commissioner passed the order dated 16.12.2013 which is impugned in this petition.

(3.) Learned counsel Shri Soparkar for the petitioner submitted that the authorization under section 132A itself was illegal. In any case, the Assistant Commissioner, pending further proceedings in terms of section 132B of the Act, should have released the cash since the petitioner was ready and willing to deposit the entire maximum tax liability even after considering the seized cash as his undisclosed income.