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TMI Blog2017 (11) TMI 1009X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... same became a case property with the court. 4. The husband of late Smt. Rewati Singh, as her heir and legal representative, has preferred this writ petition for quashing of the order dated July 25, 2012 (copy of which is annexed as annexure-13 to the writ petition) passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle-1, Muzaffar Nagar and also six notices issued under section 153A read with section 153C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred in short "the Act") of date May 10, 2012 in respect of the assessment years 2005-06 to 2010- 11. 5. The basic ground for challenging the above order and the notices is that no proceedings under sections 153A and 153C of the Act can be initiated without there being a valid requisition under section 132A of the Act. Section 132A of the Act is quoted hereunder : "(1) Where the Principal Director General or Director General or Principal Director or Director or the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, in consequence of information in his possession, has reason to believe that- (a) any person to whom a summons under sub-section (1) of section 37 of the Indian Income-tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y be, of that sub-section shall deliver the books of account, other documents or assets to the requisitioning officer either forth with or when such officer or authority is of the opinion that it is no longer necessary to retain the same in his or its custody. (3) Where any books of account, other documents or assets have been delivered to the requisitioning officer, the provisions of sub-sections (4A) to (14) (both inclusive) of section 132 and section 132B shall, so far as may be, apply as if such books of account, other documents or assets had been seized under sub-section (1) of section 132 by the requisitioning officer from the custody of the person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c), as the case may be, of sub-section (1) of this section and as if for the words 'the authorised officer' occurring in any of the aforesaid sub-sections (4A) to (14), the words 'the requisitioning officer' were substituted." 6. In short, if any one of the conditions mentioned in clause (a), (b) or (c) of sub-section (1) of section 132A is fulfilled the competent authority may direct the authority referred to in the aforesaid clauses to deliver such books of acc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as read over the authorisation and acknowledged the requisition by a letter of the same date. However, in respect of the assets i.e. the cash it was informed by him that since the amount is under judicial custody as a case property it is not liable to be produced by him. In support of the aforesaid requisition letter he has also placed reliance upon the order sheet contained in the original file and the order dated August 13, 2010 therein which states that the seizure of the aforesaid amount in cash is a strong reason to believe that Hukum Singh is having income which is not being disclosed to the Department and therefore it is necessary to send summons for his personal attendance. 11. A bare perusal of the requisition dated August 13, 2010 reveals that though it is in Form 45C but all contents of the form has been scored out and it only states as under : "the assets taken into custody by Sri Praveen Kumar, S. S. P., Muzaffar Nagar represent either wholly or partly income or property which has not been or would not have been disclosed for the purposes of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, or the Income-tax Act, 1961 by Sri Hukum Singh, House No. 7, Gandhi Colony (in front of Barat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on which would justify that the person in possession was having income over and above that disclosed and that he had concealed the real income is not sufficient to order requisition of the seized cash. 14. Apart from this validity of the letter of requisition has to be adjudicated on the basis of its contents and its contents cannot be supplemented by any material which may be part of the record but not disclosed or referred to in the requisition letter itself. Moreover, the cash recovered by the police or SSP had become the case property which cannot be produced before the income-tax authorities without the leave of the court concerned. 15. In the case of Vindhya Metal Corporation v. CIT reported in [1985] 156 ITR 233 (All), a Division Bench of this court was seized with a similar matter pertaining to the requisition under section 132A of the Act and the question before it was whether the information available with the authority concerned in issuing the requisition constitute a valid information or not. The court held that mere unexplained possession of the amount without anything more could hardly be said to constitute information which could be treated as sufficient by a reaso ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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