1973 (2) TMI 120

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..... n produced by the sales tax department in evidence. The documents that were summoned and directed to be received in evidence are documents Nos. 1 to 6 described in the application, I.A. No. 469 of 1972 filed by the plaintiff. The plea taken by the defendant is that these documents are privileged documents under section 57 of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959, and, therefore, they cannot be ma .....

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..... sclosure of any such particulars to a civil court in any suit to which the Government are party and which relates to any matter arising out of any proceeding under this Act. A reading of section 57(1) along with sub-section (2), clause (iv) thereof, shows that the officer to whom disclosures are made under section 57(1) shall treat such disclosures as confidential and shall not disclose them excep .....

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..... documents which he is statutorily prohibited from producing under section 57. The prohibition against the disclosure is relaxed only in a suit in which the Government is a party and which relates to any matter arising out of any proceeding under this Act. The prohibition against disclosure in respect of civil suits not falling under clause (iv) of subsection (2) of section 57 would continue. The c .....

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..... documents could not be denied. The learned Judge, while observing that as there is no prohibition in sub-section (1) of section 57 of the Madras General Sales Tax Act against courts calling for records of the type mentioned in that sub-section, there should be no objection to marking in evidence such documents, has not taken note of the statutory prohibition against the officer from disclosing th .....

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..... sessment of K.S. Velayutha Nadar for the years 1952-53 up to 1971-72, it may contain documents that are referred to in section 57(1) of the Act and, therefore, it cannot be permitted. If the respondent wants any particular document to be summoned and admitted in evidence, the court will consider whether such document is prohibited under section 57(1) of the Act and decide whether it should be admi .....

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