TMI Blog1960 (1) TMI 36X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nts years 1956-57 and 1957-58. She was assessed to tax on the basis of the returns; the taxes have also been paid. The second respondent filed O.S. No. 3 of 1957 in the court of the Subordinate Judge, Salem, against the petitioner and her daughter, claiming partition of the estate left by her son. Rangaswami Naidu. The bus service was one of the items of properties, in respect of which partition was claimed. With a view to establish her title to the properties, she applied, on September 6, 1957, to the first respondent for the grant of certificate copies of the income-tax returns filed by G.V. Rangaswami Naidu and also the assessment orders thereon for the years 1951-52 to 1956-57. The petitioner does not want that the second respondent should obtain the copies, and she has applied for the issue of a writ by his court to prevent the first respondent from granting the copies. The case for the petitioner is that she is the sole legal representative of the deceased, treated at any rate as such by the income-tax authorities. And that, therefore, the grant of the copies to the second respondent would contravene the provisions of section 54 of the Indian Income-tax Act. That positi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on that has been raised in the present case, namely, in what circumstances certified copies of the statements could be given by the income-tax authorities after the assessee had died, and when there was a dispute between his heirs. In terms, section 54 prohibits a disclosure by the officials of the Income-tax Department. A court cannot require the documents mentioned in section 54 to be produced. Section 54. Which, so far as it is relevant for the purpose of the present case, runs as follows: 54. (1) All particulars contained in any statement made, return furnished or accounts or documents produced under the provisions of this Act, or in any evidence given, or affidavit or deposition made, in the course of any proceedings under this act other than proceedings under this Chapter. Or in any record of any assessment proceeding, or any proceeding relating to the recovery of a demand, prepared for the purposes of this Act, shall be treated as confidential, and notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act. 1872, (1 of 1872), no court shall, save as provided in this Act, be entitled to require any public servant to produce before it any such return, accounts, docu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as been treated as representing it. In Rama Rao v. Venkataramayya [1940] 8 I.T.R. 450. It was held that there was nothing in section 54 to prohibit the practice referred to in the Income-tax Manual. That practice is the logical outcome of the principle that no matter could be confidential as against the very person who made the statements. What section 54 prohibits is the revealing of the confidential information, and there would be no revealing, if the party made the statement is allowed to inspect the statement or obtain copies thereof. It may be noticed that the cases in which the Department is allowed to grant the copies are those in which the person who applied for inspection of copies is either actually or constructively the party who made such statements. In a case of partnership or a Hindu undivided family, the person who submits returns or filed statements in support thereof would have done so only as representing the other partners or members of the family. It stands to reason that those persons on whose behalf the returns or statements were made should be entitled to inspect or obtain copies thereof; no question of breach of confidence will airs in such cases and, theref ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ble to the tax assessed as payable by the deceased, the liability being, however, limited to the extent of the estate left by the deceased. The word legal representative in section 24B, sub-clause (1) would mean all the legal representatives collectively, if there were more than one. The question of liability to income-tax where an assessee left more than one legal representative was considered by a Bench of this court (to which one of us was a party in Alfred v. Income-tax Officer [1956] 29 I.T.R. 708. It was held in that case that the liability imposed under section 24B(2) of the Act attached itself to all the legal representatives of the deceased person on whom notices were served, and that all the legal representatives of the deceased would be liable to be served with the notices under that provision. Therefore, when there is a plurality of legal representatives, it would follow that all of them should concur in applying for the inspection of the statements made to the Income-tax Officer or for the obtaining certified copies of the same from him. But where they do not agree, one of them alone could not be held to represent the deceased, and, therefore, one of them alone could ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... would constitute a public document within the meaning of section 74 of the Evidence Act. It was contended that being a public document, the second respondent would be entitled to the copies under section 76. Section 76 does not specify as to who the persons entitled to inspect a public document are. But the section allows grant of a certified copy of a public document only to a person who has right to inspect the document. It is, therefore, necessary to consider whether the second respondent would be a person entitled to inspect the income-tax returns made by the deceased. There is no provision in the Indian Income-tax Act enabling a right of inspection of the income-tax returns or statements made in respect thereof. We have already pointed out that rule 85 of the Income-tax Manual relates to an inspection by the person who either actually or constructively made the return or the statement. It was contended on behalf of the second respondent that, under the common law, the second respondent, s one of the legal representatives of the deceased, would be entitled to inspect the documents. A reference was made to the decision in King v. Justice of Staffordshire [1837] 112 E.R. 33. T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the right depends on the true construction of the statute. When the right to inspect and take a copy is not expressly conferred the extent of such right depends on the interest which the applicant h in what he wants to copy, and on what is reasonably necessary for the protection of such interest. It follows therefore that before a person could claim to inspect a public document, he should possess a direct and tangible interest in that document. An interest in some other matter which would be better served by the inspection of the document would not be sufficient. In other words, an inspection of the public document for the reason that the person would be able to advance this other interests would not be sufficient to constitute an interest in the document. For instance, a creditor of the assessee who may be anxious to secure his own interest or to realise his decree may like to get information about an assessee's business. It cannot be disputed that he would have no right to inspect the income-tax appears of the assessee, though in one sense he would have an interest in securing the information. Such an interest would be held to be neither direct and tangible nor one in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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