Law: Income Tax Act, 1961

Section: 273

(a) Income-tax----Concealment of income ---Prosecution---Mens rea---Prosecution would not follow in every case where a wrong statement was made and it would have to be judged as to whether the assessee harboured the required mens rea which was the essential ingredient of an offence. P. Jayappan v. S.K.Perumal, First ITO (1984) 149 ITR 696 (SC); Sant Parkash v. CIT (1991) 188 ITR 732 (P & H) and Parkash Chand v. ITO (1982) 134 ITR 8 ref. (b) Income-tax--- ----Concealment of income---Prosecution---Delay of seventeen years from the date of occurrence and more than eight years from the date of of acquittal of assessee---Termination of criminal proceedings against the assessee, held, were justified in circumstances. S. Guin v. Grindlays Bank Ltd. AIR 1986 SC 289 ref. JUDGMENT S.D. BAJAJ, J.--Complaint filed by the Income Tax Officer `A' Ward, Kurukshetra, against Messrs Rulia Ram Dewan Chand and its five partners under sections 277 and 273 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (as amended up to date) read with section 34, of the Indian Penal Code was dismissed by the learned Trial Court on January 3, 1983, on the ground that the finding recorded by the Income-tax Officer in regard to the concealment of income by the concern in its income-tax return filed for the assessment year 1974-75 for earning wrongful gain to itself by avoiding liability to pay income-tax had been reversed by the appellate authority ort January 21, 1980. Feeling aggrieved thereby, the complainant-Income-tax Officer has filed Criminal Appeal No.428-DBA of 1983 in this Court. We have heard Shri A.K. Mittal, Advocate, with Mr. S.G.Sandhawalia, Advocate, for the appellant, Shri Raj Mohan Singh, Advocate, for the respondents and have carefully perused the relevant records. Referring to the observations made in P Jayappan v. S.K.Perumal, First ITO (1984) 149 ITR 696 (SC) and Sant Parkash v. CIT (1991) 188 ITR 732 (P & H) learned counsel for the appellant urged that the result of proceedings before the Income-tax Tribunal was not binding on the Criminal Court and that the learned trial Court ought to have judged the case independently on the evidence adduced before it. The argument is wholly without…

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