TMI Blog1957 (11) TMI 12X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... essary for the business which its members were carrying on and distributed the articles among them. In respect of such purchases and the sales the Association was assessed to tax under the Madras General Sales Tax Act for the years 1950-51 and 1951-52. The officers of the department were unable to collect the tax from the Association. The Assistant Commercial Tax Officer then wrote to the second defendant who was the Special Deputy Tahsildar to collect the arrears of tax from the Association. On 26th August, 1954, defendants 2, 3 and 4 went to the premises of the plaintiff, attached a cash box which contained a sum of Rs. 283-11-0 and took it away. The money and the box were the separate property of the plaintiff. The plaintiff complained t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id that he would do no such thing and in effect dared him to go on with the attachment; far from surrendering the property voluntarily he had in fact entered an indignant protest to the entire proceedings. The learned Government Pleader argued that the objects of the Sirkali Taluk Hotel Keepers' Association do not come within the scope of section 20 of the Societies Registration Act, that in consequence the Association could not have been registered under the Act, that as a further consequence it became a partnership consisting of all its members and that by reason of this consequence the properties of the plaintiff who was a member of the Association could be attached to realise a debt due from the Association. I shall assume for the mom ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tivities are various and diverse. Doubts frequently arise whether any part of the Act applies to particular situations, and, if so, to what extent. Officers of Government who have got to administer the Act may proceed in the belief that certain facts exist, but later on it might turn out that the facts were different. They may also be acting under an erroneous view as to the scope of the law. The section is intended to confer protection in such and similar cases and cannot be invoked in cases of reckless exercise of authority when there is a total want of bona fides. If the argument of the learned Government Pleader were right, it would be open to the officers of the Sales Tax Department arbitrarily to take away the property of "A" to reali ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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