TMI Blog1991 (5) TMI 3X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es in ordaining the affairs of those companies. Some had vaster powers and greater influences. They had subtle and sophisticated operations. Many of them were on wings and wheels, now in London, now in Sudan, now in Switzerland and so on. It is unnecessary to dilate on the activities of the companies or of the persons at the wheel. It is a fact that, as part of a deliberate design, and with the full knowledge of the legal consequences, the advantages derivable and the risks arisable, various legal agencies were created in foreign countries. Such concerns accumulated profits really derived by the business activities in India. The members of the family received/could receive the accumulated funds standing in their names. Dissensions and differences which arose among the members of the family and otherwise, generated many litigations which spread out to even alien fields. The attempts of each group at overpowering the rival groups as revealed from the prolix records need not be recounted in this case and at this stage. It is sufficient to indicate that the Settlement Commission felt that the general information furnished by the appellant along with his application for settlement was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... te court, Nothing tangible happened in the meanwhile. Three years' time was a long enough wait. The Settlement Commission thereupon issued a notice on September 1, 1989, indicating its inclination to dispose of the proceedings before it, in view of the non-co-operation of the appellant. Opportunity for furnishing additional clarification and time requisite in that behalf were sought for by the appellant. The Settlement Commission had directed the appellant to produce among others the deed of trust and documentary evidence with regard to trusteeship agreements with the foreign companies. The direction was not complied with by the appellant. The Commission then disposed of the entire matter and with strong enough comments. The appellant did not co-operate with the Settlement Commission was one of the essential findings. It expressed the view that the reply of the appellant dated September 13, 1989, made it apparent to the Commission that the appellant's only attempt was to seek shelter from criminal prosecution. It noted that the passage of time-of 13 years-was not an insignificant duration. The Settlement Commission did not conceal its strong reaction about the conduct of the appe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... se are presented before them as and when the occasion in that behalf may arise. The scheme regarding the working of the Settlement Commission is no longer obscure. A deep exploration of the background of the constitution of the Commission had been already undertaken by the Supreme Court in its decision in Shreeram v. Settlement Commission 118 ITR 169 (sic). It is not the policy of the law or the direction of legislation to lean in favour of a social criminal, particularly of the white collar brand. This notwithstanding, the scheme of the Settlement Commission escaped judicial frowns for a major reason : a speedier culmination of a tax dispute may, in a sense, serve the cause of the nation needing huge resources for its vast welfare schemes. The Commission is to be manned by persons of impeccable integrity and unquestioned competence. Great expertise and greater responsibility in the decision-making process are integral parts of its independent functioning. It has to free itself from extraneous considerations or alien influences. It is, therefore, not reasonable for an assessee to expect the Settlement Commission to function as if it were a mere rubber stamp or yet another limb of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ocuments furnished by the appellant constituted a mass of irrelevance. (Going through the documents ourselves, we can appreciate the strong comments H so made by the Commission). The appellant, according to it, made false and misleading assertions about having submitted all the details, while in fact he had not done so. Issues were side-tracked and all attempts at focussing on the point were successfully thwarted by designedly delaying tactics. A faint excuse of disability in production of documents arising out of the seizure made in 1983 was dishonestly made. The rash projection of the excuse overlooked the fact that many years had passed after the appellant had approached the Commission (in 1976) and before the search by the Enforcement in 1983. We cannot easily discard the observations made by the Commission about what it felt to be undesirable tactics on the part of the appellant as elaborated in paragraphs 9 and 10 of its order. The appellant had filed an affidavit on October 28, 1981, in the foreign court. That solemn document contained a statement that he had a one-sixth share in the foreign assets along with his five brothers. Before the Commission, he made volte-face. Ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ld point to the conclusion that the appellant's own affidavit in a court of law was nothing else than rank perjury. No responsible authority can afford to overlook such a serious and self-confessed lapse of the appellant. C The appellant could not aspire to appease a high-ranking commission with something which may be sufficient to act as a sop to the gullible. The history of corporate entities is as thrilling as the adventures of those who set sail in unchartered waters in search of new lands, and new gold. It is equally known that, almost simultaneously, scheming men D managed to unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of innocent investors in corporate enterprises. The corporate veil concealed from public gaze many such mischief's. The South Sea Bubble was not the only bubble that burst. History records that the period commencing from 1865 had been one of wild speculation "which brought no profit to any one except their promoters". (See A History of Modern England by Herbert Paul, page 34). With development of corporate activities all over an empire on which the sun never set, frauds also became bizarre. Even judges were shocked at the magnitude and manifestations of such co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he ultimate factual findings as entered by the Settlement Commission. The orchestrated chorus of abuse against the arbitrator, the Commissioner of Income-tax, and even against the Settlement Commission made by the appellant are only consistent with a lack of candour and refinement as commented upon by the Commission. If, in the backdrop of the unassailable facts and indubitable circumstances, the Settlement Commission declared that the appellant had not furnished full and true particulars to the Commission and that a meaningful and effective settlement as visualised by the Act was impossible in the circumstances, the finding cannot be faulted at all. That was the finding of our learned brother Pendse J. With it, we wholly agree. We have so far proceeded with the claim and case of the appellant without reckoning the positive finding of the Settlement Commission about the paucity of co-operation from the applicant. The finding is fully justified. In the face of the finding, the action under section 245HA/22HA of the Acts is eminently justified. Mark the wording of the section : "The Settlement Commission may, if it is of opinion that any person who made the application . . . . ha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
