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TMI Blog1966 (2) TMI 70X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... persons. On the prayer of the prosecution the learned Judge issued summonses on the petitioners directing them to produce the documents mentioned therein. The petitioners produced certain documents in sealed covers along with individual petitions which sought to draw the attention of the court to the provisions of section 25 of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act of 1941, stating that the documents called for are protected against disclosure under the provisions of that section and praying for a decision as to whether the exception to disclosure contained in section 25(3) of the Act would be attracted to the cases, submitting at the same time that the petitioners will abide by whatever orders might be passed by the court. The learned Jud ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... protection against disclosure under section 25(1) of the Act and that that protection is not lifted in the case in view of the fact that the present prosecution is not in respect of these documents. Mr. A.K. Dutt, who appeared for M/s. Regal Hosiery Mills, whose returns and assessment orders for the year 1954-55 were called for from petitioner No. 1 contended that these papers are protected under section 25(1) of the Act and that his clients not being accused in the case it can never be said that these papers are required for the purpose of a prosecution under the Indian Penal Code in respect thereof. So far as the production of documents in the custody of officers of the sales tax directorate is concerned, the law in respect of the same ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... will also have to include particulars which should satisfy the witness concerned that the documents called for are liable to be produced in court. The fact stands, however, that the documents called for have been produced in court in, sealed covers and if it is found that they are in law liable to be disclosed, they should, in our opinion, be directed to be disclosed even though not called for strictly in accordance with law. As a matter of fact, the concerned witnesses produced the documents in sealed covers with a prayer that the learned Judge should first satisfy himself that they are liable to be disclosed before directing their disclosure. We shall now consider first whether the documents called for are protected against disclosure ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ey are required to be particularised but as the summonses stand the correspondence files are not liable to be disclosed unless the prosecution be in respect of matters in those files. The returns are specifically provided for in section 25(1) and unless the present prosecution is in respect of such returns they are not liable to be disclosed. These returns were called for from opposite party No. 1 and relate to M/s. Regal Hosiery Mills, M/s. Golden Hosiery and Cotton Mills and M/s. Madhusudan Hosiery Mills which are not accused in the case, namely, M/s. Steel Equipment and Construction Limited and M/s. Bhagwandas Jhabarmal. As these two firms are accused in the case their returns though covered by section 25(1) are liable to be produced und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at these files are likely to contain papers protected against disclosure. But the files minus those documents would only contain papers of the department which are not protected against disclosure. In this connection we may also consider the assessment orders in the sales tax files some of which were separately called for from petitioner No. 1. Mr. A.K. Dutt contended that these assessment orders must also be protected against disclosure inasmuch as they contained particulars of statements and documents produced in the assessment proceeding. In this connection we may consider section 54 of the Income-tax Act which contains a provision similar to that in section 25 of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act of 1941, but is much wider in its con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ments and evidence in the sales tax files called for are liable to be produced and disclosed. Considering all that we have stated above we find that although the summonses issued in the case are not in accordance with law in every respect we should not be justified in setting aside the order moved against and directing issue of fresh processes in the light of our findings above. The order of the learned Judge is upheld with this modification that the correspondence files and the sales tax returns of M/s. Bengal Hosiery Mills, M/s. Golden Hosiery and Cotton Mills and M/s. Madhusudan Hosiery Mills as called for in the case are not liable to be disclosed. The rest of the documents called for from the petitioners are not entitled to the prote ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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