TMI Blog1961 (4) TMI 81X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al Tax Officer of Dindigul, with intent to prevent or deter him from discharging his duties as a public servent and thereby committed an offence under section 353, Indian Penal Code, and that the same accused (the respondents) obstructed the inspection of accounts by the aforesaid Sri Thangiah (P. W. 1) and thereby committed an offence. punishable under section 15(2)(b) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act. The learned sub-divisional Magistrate dealt with the facts of the evidence in an elaborate judgment. He was of the view that not merely were the offences not established in the evidence for prosecution, which he was not inclined to believe, but that when it was not shown that the respondents were "dealers" the entry of the officers into t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion for it. On the contrary, I shall assume that the officers, and P.Ws. 1 and 2 in particular, were satisfied on information received that the two respondents were carrying on business as "dealers", were "burking" such transactions by not bringing them to the notice of the Commercial Tax Authorities, were escaping assessment altogether, and maintaining secret accounts. Even assuming all this, and assuming that the officers were acting bona fide, I still think it can be easily shown that their behaviour upon the relevant occasion was injudicious and unsupported by law, and hence that the charges against the respondents cannot be successfully sustained. As a glance at section 15(2)(b) of the Act will show, what is punishable under this sub ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct. But the officers did not proceed to the business premises to inspect such accounts or registers; in fact, there is nothing to prove that any such business premises existed. Under section 14(3), the officers "shall have power to enter for the purposes referred to in sub-section (2) any office, shop, godowns..........or any other place in which business is done". It has to be carefully noticed that the terms of this sub-section are very restricted in scope and effect. The officer does not get a power, by means of this sub-section, to enter domestic premises, merely because he suspects that some business is being carried on there. He may enter any place ostensibly used for the conduct of business as such, as an office, shop, godown etc. Bu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t the entry of these officers into the private house of the respondents was not merely unfortunate, but was unauthorised and illegal, in the absence of evidence to show that this was a place of business. This entry did constitute trespass. Apart from the reliability of the evidence, concerning which I propose to say nothing, since the learned Magistrate, who had the advantage of seeing and hearing the witnesses for prosecution, was not prepared to believe them, it is clear enough that, upon the facts of this character, the charge under section 15(2)(b) could not be sustained. It is equally clear that, as the learned Magistrate has rightly stressed, the charge under section 353, Indian Penal Code, could not stand. For, once we concede that ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
