T S BALIAH Vs. T S RANGACHARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner in all these cases is the same. They are dealt with together as the points raised are substantially the same.

(2.) THE revision petitioner is a cine-actor. Four complaints were filed against him by the Income-tax Officer, Central Circle-6, Madras, alleging that he had been systematically filing false returns of his income and had omitted to give true information regarding his professional earnings liable to be taxed from the year 1957 with a view to evade payment of tax and he had deliberately concealed material particulars of his income in spite of notices having been issued by the department to file a true and correct Statement of income. The first three complaints relating to the assessment years 1958-59, 1959-60, 1960-61 respectively were filed before the Chief Presidency Magistrate, Madras, under section 52 of the Income-tax Act, 1922, and under Section 177, I. P. C. The fourth complaint which is in respect of the assessment year, 1961-62 was filed under section 277 of the Income-tax Act of 1961 and under Section 177, I. P. C.

(3.) THE revision petitioner raised preliminary objection before the learned Chief presidency Magistrate in respect of the first three complaints on the grounds that the complaint under Section 177, I. P. C. was not maintainable in law as the operation of Section 177, I. P. C. was excluded to cases relating to Income-tax matters, that the prosecution under Section 52 of the Income-tax Act, 1922, will also not apply as it was repealed by the Income-tax Act of 1961 and that the sanction given by the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax was invalid. In the fourth complaint, an additional ground was taken that Section 277 of the Income-tax Act of 1961 is invalid and ultra vires of the Constitution of India and in excess of the administrative competence end opposed to Article 14 of the constitution.