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Section 276C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Offence and prosecution - Wilful attempt to evade tax, etc. - Assessment years 1991-92 to 1995-96 - Petitioner filed instant petition praying for stay of criminal proceedings initiated against him under section 276C on ground that appeal against assessment order/penalty order under section 271(1)(b) were pending adjudication before Commissioner (Appeals)/Tribunal - Whether on facts and circumstances of case and also in view of fact that no previous sanction of Commissioner or Commissioner (Appeals) or appropriate authority was taken before initiating criminal proceedings, interim stay should be granted - Held, yes FACTS In a criminal case lodged against the petitioner, an official of Animal Husbandry Department, it was alleged that the petitioner had made fraudulent and dishonest withdrawals of bills and had misappropriated and suppressed certain amount so realised. The Single Judge passed an order taking cognizance of the offence under section 276C and ordered for issuing summons against the petitioner. Aggrieved, the petitioner filed instant petition with a prayer for stay of aforesaid criminal proceedings against him on the ground of pending adjudication of appeals against the assessment order/penalty order before the Commissioner (Appeals) the Tribunal. HELD In the case of Jayappan v. S.K. Perumal [1984] 149 ITR 696/19 Taxman 1, Supreme Court held that though the pendency of the reassessment proceedings under the Act will not act as a bar to the institution of the criminal proceedings, it had not observed that it would act as a bar to granting of even the order of interim stay by a court under proper circumstances. [Para 8] In the case of CIT v. Bhupen Champaklal Dalal [2001] 248 ITR 830/116 Taxman 476 (SC), it was held that when the stay could be granted in a case in which no claim for quashing of the proceeding was made, there would be no difficulty in granting of the stay in a case in which the claim for quashing the proceeding had been made since if the proceedings were quashed, there would be no question of any interim stay and nothing would be left to prosecute the assessee. [Para 9] Further, from a perusal…

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