9911796707
TMI Blog2008 (4) TMI 75X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... U. Bhuyan for the respondent. JUDGMENT I. A. ANSARI —1 . The petitioner, Smt. Nandita Acharjee, carries on a business of money-lending under the name and style of Hindustan Mortgage Institution. The petitioner's husband, Parima Acharjee, is lecturer in Lumding College. The petitioner and also her husband are assessees under the Income-tax Office, Nagaon. Having completed the assessment of income-tax payable by the petitioner in respect of the assessment years 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04, demand notices were issued to the petitioner on March 31, 2006. In terms of the demand, notices, the petitioner was to make payment within a period of 30 days from the date of service of the notice. As the petitioner had not paid the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... income-tax authorities. Though jewellery were found at the said premises, the same were not seized, nor was any cash seized. For the books of account/and other documents so seized, inventories were prepared. After revoking prohibitory orders aforementioned, bank lockers at the said two banks, maintained in the name of the petitioner, were also searched and several documents and valuable securities including KVPs and NSCs, found in the said lockers, were seized. From the lockers maintained at the United Bank of India, several KVPs, NSCs and other valuable securities, in the form of bond, held by the petitioner and her husband were seized. Following such search and seizure, the statements of the petitioner and her husband were recorded. In th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ioner came to this court with the help of the present writ application, made under article 226 of the Constitution of India, challenging the legality of the refusal of the respondents to release the KVPs and NSCs, which they had seized, and sought for issuance of appropriate writ(s) declaring that the seizure made by the respondents is illegal, without jurisdiction and also commanding the respondents to release the seized KVPs, NSCs, etc. 4. While the writ petition was pending, the petitioner applied to the Joint Commissioner of Income-tax seeking release of some of the KVPs and NSCs on the ground that those were pledged articles and as the loanees had repaid their loans, the securities, lying in the form of KVPs and NSCs, were required ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ches, conducted in the present case, revealed several assets held by the petitioner in the name of the persons other than the petitioner. this apart, the petitioner had, admittedly, not disclosed some of her income. The assets held in the names of Smt. Sima Dhar, Dipika Dhar, Supriya Mishra and Uma Mazumdar, were found in the possession and control of the petitioner and, hence, a presumption, in terms of section 132(4A) (i) of the Act, has been drawn that the assets, held in the name of the persons aforementioned, too belong to the present petitioner and none else. All these assets are required to be verified and examined by the respondents and till the above exercise is completed, it would be premature to conclude that the KVPs and NSCs, i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onged to the petitioner. Though the petitioner contends that the KVPs and NSCs, which have been found in the name of Smt. Sima Dhar, Dipika Dhar, Supriya Mishra and Uma Mazumdar, are pledged articles against the loans, which the petitioner had advanced and the payments, having been made by the loanees, the same are to be required to be returned to the loanees. The fact of the matter remains that section 132(4A)(i) reads as under : "(4A) Where any books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing are or is found in the possession or control of any person in the course of a search, it may be presumed— (i) that such books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewelllery or other valuable ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... assessed income is pending, particularly, when the search, so conducted, has, admittedly, brought to surface the undisclosed income of the petitioner. 10. At the time of hearing of this writ petition, Mr. Mazumdar has placed reliance on the case of Alleppey Financial Enterprises v. Asst. Dir. of I. T. (Investigations) reported in [1999] 236 ITR 562 (Ker), in order to contend that the respondents have no authority to seize the KVPs and NSCs, which stand in the name of Smt. Sima Dhar, Dipika Dhar, Supriya Mishra and Uma Mazumdar. 11 . While considering the decision in Alleppey Financial Enterprises [1999] 236 ITR 562 (Ker), what needs to be pointed out is that in Alleppey Financial Enterprises [1999] 236 ITR 562 (Ker), the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
