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TMI Blog1999 (10) TMI 42X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etails except noticing the fact that on account of the business activities carried on by the late Sukhdev Singh when he was alive, he incurred liabilities under the Income-tax Act, 1961, in respect of the assessment year 1960-61 to the tune of Rs. 12,868 and in respect of the assessment year 1961-62 to the tune of Rs. 26,494 as disclosed in annexures PA and PB filed with the writ petition. The wife, the second petitioner herein, was also said to be one of the members of the association of persons, which carried on the business though, it is now claimed in the affidavit filed by the first petitioner, her son, that she had no knowledge and was ignorant about any of the business activities, she being illiterate. Efforts appear to have been taken at various points of time for enforcing the recovery of outstanding dues with interest and penalty recoverable thereon on account of the delay and it did not yield fruitful results. Reference is made by the petitioners in this petition about some enquiries at some point of time by the officers and recommendations which were said to have been made to issue non-recovery certificate but that was not done so and, therefore, the recovery proceeding ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such arrest would be in accordance with law, it is futile for anyone including the petitioners to claim any harassment. The respondents in their reply, would submit that the object was not to arrest the petitioners and it was not given out that they will be arrested. As indicated earlier, since they were avoiding facing even the enquiries and disclosing the particulars sought, the arrest warrant appears to have been issued, which has become, in our view, mainly essential on account of the behaviour and attitude of the petitioners themselves exhibiting a defiant and indifferent attitude to the notices issued. As to the question of arrest, rule 81 contained in Schedule II to the Act prohibits the arrest and detention of a woman. Consequently, the question of arrest of the second petitioner would not arise. So far as the other petitioners are concerned, rule 85 of the very Schedule would indicate that if at any time after the certificate is drawn up by the Tax Recovery Officer the defaulter dies, the proceedings under the Schedule can be pursued as if the legal representative were the defaulters except in respect of arrest and detention. So far as the other reliefs sought for in the n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... section 21, which provides for insertion of clause (ccc) in the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 60 of the Code of Civil Procedure will have no application, whatsoever, to recovery proceedings under the Income-tax Act, 1961, and that the said provisions have limited role and application only in respect of proceedings initiated under the Himachal Pradesh Debt Reduction Act, 1976, and not even to all or any proceedings initiated before the civil court and the Code of Civil Procedure applicable as such to those proceedings before the civil court, arising in matters other than the one falling within the purview of the Himachal Pradesh Debt Reduction Act, 1976. Even learned counsel for the petitioners apparently anticipating the stand that may be taken for the respondents invited our attention to the decision reported in Himachal Lithographers v. Punjab and Sind Bank, [1999] 1 Sim. L.C. 117, rendered by a Division Bench of this court, wherein the applicability of the amendment introduced by the Himachal Pradesh Debt Reduction Act, 1976, came to be considered in respect of a suit filed by the Punjab and Sind Bank against the defaulter, who had borrowed loan from the said bank. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oint that is really in issue before us and, therefore, we refrain from making any reference to the same. In our view, the only relevant decisions are the one reported in Himachal Lithographers v. Punjab and Sind Bank, [1999] 1 Sim. L. C. 117 and Kiran Bala v. Surinder Kumar, AIR 1996 SC 2094 ; [1996] 4 SCC 372. Since the petitioners have not staked claims based on clause (ccc) to sub-section (1) of section 60 of the Code of Civil procedure, even the decision brought to our notice and reported in State Bank of India v. Balak Raj Abrol [1992] 2 Sim. L. C. 172, has no relevance. We have carefully considered the submissions of learned counsel appearing on either side in the light of the abovereferred two decisions and the relevant provisions of law. The decision reported in Himachal Lithographers v. Punjab and Sind Bank, [1999] 1 Sim. L. C. 117, has been taken on appeal by the petitioners, who have lost in this court, by filing a petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No. 14581 of 1998 and though initially notice appears to have been ordered and interim orders of stay have also been granted, ultimately on November 9, 1998, their Lordships of the apex court dismissed the specia ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cial Insolvency Act or to the code of Civil Procedure generally in the State of Himachal Pradesh but to the applicability of those laws to matters or proceedings arising and dealt with under the Himachal Pradesh Debt Reduction Act, 1976 chapter III under the caption "Suits and decrees", provides for forum of suits, debtor's right to sue, amendment of decree, accounting and determination of the amounts due and rate of interest and decrees, etc.. and Chapter IV under the caption "Execution of decrees", likewise provides for the restriction on attachment of agricultural produce, protection of agricultural land of debtor from sale or transfer, procedure to be followed where several decrees are executed simultaneously, trees protected from sale, etc. Section 14 reads that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, save in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall apply to all proceedings under the Act, thereby while making the Code of Civil Procedure as such applicable to the proceedings under the Debt Reduction Act, the State Legislature thought fit to indicate certain additional protections, in addition to those already contained. 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