1971 (5) TMI 63 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues:
- Legality of search and seizure of documents by Assistant Sales Tax Officer
- Legality of administrative instructions issued by Commissioner of Sales Tax
- Admissibility of information gathered from seized documents in assessment proceedings

Analysis:

The judgment delivered by the High Court of Allahabad pertained to two petitions challenging the search and seizure of documents by an Assistant Sales Tax Officer under section 13(3) of the Sales Tax Act. The first issue addressed was the legality of the search conducted by the Assistant Sales Tax Officer. Citing the case of Agrawal Engineering Stores v. State of Uttar Pradesh, it was established that an Assistant Sales Tax Officer lacked the authority to conduct such searches, rendering the search and seizure of documents in these cases illegal.

Moving on to the second issue, the court examined the administrative instructions issued by the Commissioner of Sales Tax on April 1, 1967. These instructions aimed to influence the assessing authority's judgment based on reports from the Sales Tax Officer (Special Investigation Branch). The court deemed these instructions as infringing upon the independence of the assessing authority, thereby declaring them illegal. It was emphasized that the assessing authority should exercise its judgment independently without being swayed by external directives.

The final issue revolved around the admissibility of information obtained from seized documents in assessment proceedings. The petitioner argued that such information should not be admissible based on American legal principles. However, the court differentiated the American legal framework from the Indian context, emphasizing that the exclusionary rule in America was rooted in constitutional provisions absent in the Indian Constitution. The court referenced various legal precedents, including the Privy Council's decision in Kuruma v. The Queen, to assert that the admissibility of evidence should be based on relevance rather than the method of acquisition.

In conclusion, the court partially allowed the petitions by declaring the search and seizure of documents as illegal and restraining the Sales Tax Officer from following the Commissioner's administrative instructions. The court emphasized that evidence obtained through illegal means could be admissible in assessment proceedings in the absence of constitutional barriers, provided it is relevant to the issue being tried. The judgment highlighted the importance of upholding the independence of assessing authorities and ensuring the relevance of evidence in legal proceedings.