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TMI Blog1962 (2) TMI 58X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he Act. - Criminal Appeal No. 146, 147 of 1960, - - - Dated:- 5-2-1962 - KAPUR J.L., DAS GUPTA K.C. AND RAGHUBAR DAYAL JJ. I.N. Shroff, Advocate, for the respondent (in both the appeals.) G.C. Mathur, Advocate, for the appellants (in both the appeals) -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the Court was delivered by KAPUR, J.- These are two appeals directed against the order of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh rejecting a reference made by the Sessions Judge against the prosecution of the appellants for contravening the provisions of the C.P. Berar Sales Tax Act (XXI of 1947), herein- after called the "Act". A firm of which five brothers including the two appellants were partner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de returns under that section. Section 15 deals with production and inspection of accounts and section 24 enumerates the offences under the Act. The alleged offence of the appellants falls under section 24(1)(b) and (g), i.e., failing without sufficient cause to submit any return or furnishing false returns and knowingly producing incorrect accounts, registers or documents or knowingly furnishing incorrect information. Section 26 relates to the protection of persons acting in good faith and limitations for suits and prosecutions. The section when quoted is as follows: "Section 26. (1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any servant of the Government for anything which is in good faith done or intended to b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion 24 of the Act. It observed as follows: "The test whether an act is done or intended to be done under a certain law might well be whether the person who committed it can, if challenged, reasonably justify his act under any provision contained in that law". "This opinion is, our view, not sustainable. When the appellants submitted their returns they did so under section 10 of the Act and when they produced their accounts they did so under section 15 of the Act. Therefore both the making of the returns and production of the accounts were done under the Act and cannot be said to be outside the provisions of the Act. In our opinion the High Court was in error in rejecting the reference. The appeals are therefore allowed. order of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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