9911796707
TMI Blog1969 (9) TMI 32X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aised various objections to the said notice and the time for compliance was extended from time to time until finally, by his letter dated 25th June, 1968, the said respondent informed the petitioner that the said summons was issued under section 131 of the Act in the exercise of his legal jurisdiction. This rule was obtained on the 27th June, 1968, calling upon (1) the Union of India, (2) the Assistant Director of Inspection, and (3) Sri D. K. Guha, who happened to be the said Assistant Director of Inspection, to show cause why appropriate writs should not be issued to quash the aforesaid notice dated the 19th June, 1968, and cancel all proceedings taken thereunder. In order to appreciate the contentions raised in this application it would be necessary to examine the, following provisions in the Income-tax Act, 1961, hereinafter referred to as " the Act ". Section 2(21) defines a " Director of Inspection " to mean a person appointed to be a Director of Inspection and to include a person appointed to be an Additional Director, a Deputy Director or an Assistant Director of Inspection. Section 131, as it stood at the material time, provided as follows : " Section 131.- (1) The Inc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssistant Commissioner, Assistant Director of Inspection or Income-tax Officer (hereinafter referred to as the authorized officer), to do certain acts such as entering and searching any premises, breaking of any locks of any doors, box, lockers, safe, etc., seize and take possession of any books of account and other documents, moneys, etc., and make a note or an inventory of such articles seized and taken possession of. Section 135, the construction of which is material for the purpose of this application, is to the following effect: " The Director of Inspection, the Commissioner and the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner shall be competent to make any enquiry under this Act, and for this purpose shall have all the powers that an Income-tax Officer has under this Act in relation to the making of enquiries. " The only other section required to be considered is section 142 which authorizes the Income-tax Officer to serve notices on any person who has made a return to produce or cause to be produced books of account and documents, to furnish in writing and verified in the prescribed manner such information as may be required and other ancillary powers including the power to make s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he proposition that in case of any doubt or ambiguity the Statement of Objects and Reasons can be looked into. In Commissioner of Income-tax v. Sodra Devi, the following observations were made: " It is clear that unless there is any such ambiguity it would not be open to the court to depart from the normal rule of construction which is that the intention of the legislature should be primarily gathered from the words which are used. It is only when the words used are ambiguous that they would stand to be examined and construed in the light of surrounding circumstances and constitutional principles and practice. " Their Lordships quoted from the judgment of Lord Lindley M. R. in Thomson v. Lord Clanmorris and of the Supreme Court in Bengal Immunity Co. Ltd. v. State of Bihar, in support of the aforesaid proposition. Another passage from the said judgment was also relied on by Dr. Pal, namely : " Though it is not legitimate to refer to the Statement of Objects and Reasons as an aid to the construction or for ascertaining the meaning of any, particular word used in the Act or statute ........., nevertheless, this court in State of West Bengal v. Subodh Gopal Bose, referred to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hat such a provision would be contradictory to the other provisions of the Act would not enter into consideration in construing that section. Mr. Mitter contended that the words of section 135 are absolutely plain and free from any ambiguity and it confers on the Director and the other authorities mentioned therein all the powers of an Income-tax Officer to make any enquiries under the Act. Such enquiry must necessarily involve summoning of witnesses and production of material books or documents. I am unable to accept the contention of Mr. Mitter. In my opinion, the problem is not entirely one of construction of the relevant sections of the Act. The authority to issue the impugned notice is soaght to be derived from section 131. Section 131 specifically empowers the four authorities mentioned therein to exercise the powers vested in a court under the Civil Procedure Code. Section 135, inter alia, gives the Director of Inspection all the powers of the Income-tax Officer to make any enquiry under the Act. Section 131 does not specifically deal with an enquiry under the Act ; it authorises the taking of certain steps to facilitate such an enquiry. If the Director of Inspection assu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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