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Issues:
1. Assessment of income and imposition of penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. 2. Constitutional validity of sections 277, 278, and 279 of the Income-tax Act. 3. Criminal proceedings under section 277 of the Income-tax Act and sections 191/193/34 of the Indian Penal Code. Analysis: The judgment involves a case where partners of a firm engaged in commission agency and manufacturing were assessed for concealing income. The Income-tax Officer alleged discrepancies in the firm's accounts, leading to the assessment of higher income. The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) modified the assessment, adding an amount of Rs. 41,000 for unexplained investments and profits. Subsequently, penalty proceedings were initiated under section 271(1)(c) of the Act, resulting in the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 41,000 for income concealment. The partners appealed against the penalty, which is pending before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal at Delhi. The Income-tax Officer also filed a criminal complaint under section 277 of the Act, along with sections 191/193/34 of the Indian Penal Code, alleging intentional and fraudulent income concealment by making false entries in the books of account. The partners challenged the constitutional validity of sections 277, 278, and 279 of the Act in a writ petition, questioning the ongoing criminal proceedings. The court emphasized that the deletion of a portion of the addition by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) did not bar the continuation of criminal proceedings related to the remaining amount of Rs. 41,000. It was clarified that the pendency of an appeal against the penalty imposition did not halt the criminal proceedings. The court upheld the constitutional validity of sections 277, 278, and 279 of the Act based on precedents and dismissed the writ petition. The judgment highlighted that the observations made did not reflect on the pending case's merits, leaving it to be decided based on evidence presented in the trial court.
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