GARDHARA SINGH Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in Civil Writs Nos. 4392 to 4397, 4465, 4467, 4469, 4562 and 4564 of 1975, whose residential and business premises were simultaneously searched by the I.T. authorities on May 29, 1975, in pursuance of the warrants of authorisation issued by the Commissioner of Income Tax (hereinafter referred to as " the Commissioner ") under Sec. 132(1) of the I.T. Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as " the Act"), have in these writ petitions assailed the legality of the said searches and the issuance of the notice under Rule 112A of the I.T. Rules, 1962 (hereinafter referred to as " the Rules "), requiring some of them, from whose premises seizure of undisclosed income had been effected, to disclose the sources of acquisition of such of the items of undisclosed income, as had been merely listed and not seized by the I.T. authorities that carried out the searches of their respective premises. Since in all of these petitions common questions of law and facts are involved, I propose a common order for the same, and wherever found necessary the reference to facts would be made from Civil Writ Petition No. 4395 of 1975.

(2.) The submissions advanced on behalf of the petitioners by Mr. Kuldip Singh, their learned counsel, are :

(3.) The aforesaid submissions of the learned counsel have to be considered against the background of the assertions made on behalf of the revenue in their replies and the record made available to the court.