AGRICULTURAL INCOME TAX OFFICER TIRUCHY Vs. RAMASAMY REDDIAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner in the Civil Revision Petition is a third party in the suit O.S. No. 53 of 1987 on the file of the District Munsif's Court at Karur. This Civil Revision Petition is directed against the order dated 7.1.1991 made in I.A. No. 1077 of 1990 in O.S. No. 53 of 1987 directing the petitioner to produce the assessment records under S. 52.(4) of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Income-tax Act 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). THE respondents 1 and 2 filed the said suit O.S. No. 53 of 1987 again 1st respondents 3 to 5 claiming the following reliefs:? (a) Declaring rights, title and interests of the plaintiffs to the suit A and B Schedule properties and consequent thereon granting permanent injunction restraining the defendants, their men and servants in any manner from interfering with the plaintiff's possession and enjoyment of the suit properties (aa) if the defendants are found to be in possession of any portion of the suit properties by this Hon'ble Court that the defendants to surrender peaceful possession of the suit properties to the plaintiff. (b) award costs of the above suit: and (c) grant such other reliefs as the Hon'ble Court deemed fit and proper under the circumstances of the above suit and render justice.? THE case of the respondents 1 and 2 in the above suit is that there was a family partition between respondents 1 and 3 who are brothers and respondents 1 and 2 based their case on the said family partition. To substantiate the case of respondents 1 and 2 that there was a family partition, they took out summons to the petitioner to produce before the Court below the assessment records relating to the assessment years 1988-1989, 1989-1990 and 1990-1991. THE petitioner did not respond to the summons issued by the Court below which resulted in the respondents 1 and 2 filing of the Petition I.A. No. 1077 of 1990 seeking the arrest of the petitioner for disobedience of the order of the Court below to produce the assessment records. THE petitioner herein resisted the application I.A. No. 1077 of 1990 contending that as per S. 52 of the Act all the records pertaining the agricultural income-tax assessment cannot be directed to be produced into court, that all the records of the assessment files shall be treated as confidential and that notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, the Court below cannot require the petitioner to produce before it the documents or records relating to the assessment. THE specific plea of the petitioner in the counter is that in respect of the properties held by the parties for the period in question viz, faslis 1397 to 1390 assessments were made under S. 65-A of the Act and hot under S. 29 of the Act, and therefore, the provision contained in Sub Section (4) of S. 52 of the Act will not apply to the case of the respondents. However, the Court below by the order dated 7.1.1991 directed the petitioner to produce the documents of assessments holding that the immunity under S. 52(1) was not available to the petitioner as the assessments were made under S. 29 of the Act.

(2.) MRS. Chitra Venkataraman, learned Additional Government Pleader (Taxes) relying on the decision of this Court in C.R.P. No. 5280 of 1983 contended that the documents filed by the assessee cannot be directed to be produced into court except under the circumstances mentioned in Sub Section (4) of S. 52 of the Act and that there is nothing in this case to show that the assessment was made under S. 29 of the Act attracting the provision contained in Sub Section (4) of S. 52 of the Act. There is substance in the contention of the learned Additional Government Pleader. In State of Tamil Nadu rep. by the Agricultural Income Tex Officer, Tiruchy v. S.N. Thirugnanam and another (C.R.P. No. 5280 of 1983), this court, while interpreting the scope of S. 52 of the Agricultural Income-Tex Act, after referring to the decisions of Supreme Court in Charu Chandra Kundu v. Gulupad Ghosh (AIR 1962 SC 1119) and Commissioner of Income Tex v. Laxmichand Narandas (A.I.R. 1962 S.C. 1121), held as follows:?