JIWAN LAL KAPOOR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JIWAN Lal Kapoor is the petitioner before us. His son, Rajiv Kapoor, had gone to Bhopal in the month of June, 2002, carrying with him gold jewellery weighing 3,934.410 grams valued at Rs. 17,50,808. He went to the shop of Shringar Jewellers at Bhopal on June 13, 2002, when an income-tax raid took place in that shop. Amongst others, the jewellery which Rajiv Kapoor was carrying with him was also seized along with bill books, vouchers, etc., by the income-tax authorities from the shop of Shringar Jewellers, Bhopal. A copy of the panchnama prepared at the time of seizure is annexure P-2 with the writ petition. The income-tax authorities at Bhopal dealing with the case of Shringar Jewellers, Bhopal, have recorded a prima facie finding that the jewellery seized from Rajiv Kapoor did not belong to Shringar Jewellers and that it is the unaccounted jewellery of J. L. Kapoor and Sons, Amritsar, of which Rajiv Kapoor was a representative. Since J. L. Kapoor and Sons is an assessee at Amritsar the income-tax authorities at Bhopal transferred the record to their counterpart at Amritsar on February 18, 2003, to take necessary action against J. L. Kapoor and Sons. We are informed that the Assessing Officer at Amritsar has issued a notice to J. L. Kapoor and Sons under Section 158BD of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act"), and the proceedings are going on. However, we are not concerned with those proceedings in this writ petition. The grievance of the petitioner is that the finding recorded by the authorities at Bhopal that the jewellery recovered from Rajiv Kapoor was the unaccounted jewellery of J. L. Kapoor and Sons, is illegal and arbitrary inasmuch as the authorities at Bhopal did not examine the books of account of the petitioner nor did they verify whether the said jewellery has been accounted for or not. According to him, the entire jewellery is reflected in the stock register maintained by J. L. Kapoor and Sons. The prayer made in the writ petition is that a direction be issued to the respondents to release the jewellery to the petitioner because that is the entire stock-in-trade of J. L. Kapoor and Sons and that their business is at a stand still for the last nine months.

(2.) ON a query made by us from learned counsel for the respondents as to where the jewellery is, Shri R. P. Sawhney, learned senior counsel representing some of the respondents, informs us that the jewellery is with the concerned Commissioner of Income-tax at Bhopal and can be released if a direction is issued by this court. It is the common case of the parties that the jewellery seized from Rajiv Kapoor cannot be retained by the income-tax authorities if the same stands accounted for/reflected in the account books of J. L. Kapoor and Sons. It is, therefore, necessary that the Assessing Officer of J. L. Kapoor and Sons at Amritsar should examine the books of account including the stock register and record a finding whether the seized jewellery lying at Bhopal had been accounted for by J. L. Kapoor and Sons in its books of account or not. We, therefore, direct the petitioner to appear before his assessing authority at Amritsar on March 10, 2003, at 10.30 a. m. along with the books of account including the stock register and such other evidence which he may like to produce before the assessing authority. The assessing authority will examine the books of account and other material that may be produced before him and record a finding whether the jewellery seized from Rajiv Kapoor which is presently lying at Bhopal, has been accounted for or not. In case the assessing authority comes to the conclusion that the jewellery has been accounted for, he shall pass an order releasing the same forthwith. In case such an order is passed, the concerned Commissioner of Income-tax at Bhopal will release the jewellery forthwith to the representatives of the petitioner.

(3.) A copy of this order be supplied dasti to counsel for the parties by March 5, 2003, on payment of usual charges.