UNION OF INDIA Vs. ROHIT ENTERPRISES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE judgments impugned in these appeals filed under section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, are rendered by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Economic Offence), Indore, in Criminal Cases Nos. 36 of 1988, 39 of 1988 and 95 of 1990, acquitting accused-respondents of the charges under Sections 276DD and 278DD read with Section 269SS of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act").

(2.) ALTHOUGH the trial court below has recorded an acquittal on the merits with a finding that the charges against the accused persons are not established, these appeals in my judgment must fall on a law point as to the tenability of the prosecution against the respondents.

(3.) FOLLOWING the ratio in Kolhapur Canesugar Works Ltd., AIR 2000 SC 811, this court in Criminal Revision No. 528 of 1997 (Parmanand Das Brij Bhushan Das v. Union of India [2001] 249 ITR 328) decided on February 14, 2001, quashed the conviction recorded under Section 276E of the Act. The prosecution of the present accused-respondents was also, therefore, bad in law after the coming into force of the amendment Act, 1987, and the judgment of acquittal recorded by the trial court deserves to be maintained on that short ground alone.