TMI Blog1987 (12) TMI 29X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gs were warranted by law is another matter, but the outcome of the search must have been disappointing to the Department even, as what was found was a mere Rs. 19,000 in cash from the premises of a person who, according to notings of the Department in consequence of which authorisation was issued, was " known for his roaring practice in this field of medical profession and also for high rate of fee for operations ". Even the jewellery found were 21 pieces of gold ornaments consisting of chains, bangles, rings, a modest possession in a house with three female members. National Saving Certificates of Rs. 1,49,000 included purchases of Rs. 1,03,000 in 1983. Deposits in Unit Trust of India in the name of different members of the family amounted to Rs. 40,000. Two National Saving Certificates of Rs. 10,000 each in the name of two daughters were also found. And the household goods mentioned in the inventory can normally be found in any average family. All this in family of four doctors, petitioner, his father, wife and son. Search and seizure are a common feature of fiscal statutes. Its utility cannot be undermined in a civilised society. But it is capable of being abused as well. That ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hus earning rupees thirty to thirty-five thousand per day. In his examination on oath, that too in December, 1985, it was stated by the complainant that he gathered the information by following the servants, patients and the petitioner himself. And that if a search was made, huge amount of undisclosed money of rupees 20 lakhs was likely to be found. Apart from the merits of the complaint and statement on oath which can be said for any professional, be he a lawyer or doctor, the information remained in cold storage for more than one and half years because the local unit was verifying it, without there being anything on record to support it. And yet it suddenly became a live wire in May, 1987, commencing with a report from the Assistant Director on May 25, culminating in an authorisation on May 26, by the Director stationed at Kanpur and availability of warrant for search and raid on the same day at 8.30 a.m. Even the extract from the report which resulted in this raid and formed the foundation for action reads as under : " Enquiries with regard to the abovementioned a allegations were made by the Investigation Wing at Allahabad. Mr. N. L. Tahiliani has been the most leading surgeo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... very householder, the good or the bad, the guilty or the innocent, is entitled to the protection designed to secure the common interest against unlawful invasion of the house ". Ransacking of the house and the act of taking away the property is an inroad on the citizens' right of privacy " : one of the values of civilization. Any unwarranted intrusion on it cannot be countenanced. Reasonable belief exists if the information is not only trustworthy but reasonable and sufficient in itself to warrant the conclusion that the provisions of section 132 were being violated. Because if the exercise of power is bad or unlawful in inception, then it is not validated or nor does it change character from its success. It would not, therefore, be asking too much from the authorities to comply with the basic requirements of the section before they are permitted to invade the secrecy of one's home. Even the report that the Assistant Director had reason to believe that in the normal course provided under the Act, he (petitioner) will not disclose to the Department his correct income and wealth which is much more than what he has been declaring to the Department, is fed on rumours and drawn on ima ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is not stated. Not a word has been mentioned in the report, nor could any record be shown to demonstrate that the standard of living was out of proportion so as to warrant the conclusion that the petitioner was concealing income. Even if the recommending authority had some notions of his own either on personal knowledge or on any inquiry, it should have been made available to the Director to draw the inference, as the action was to be taken by him. The requirement of " reason to believe " is not an empty formality. The Director and the Commissioner have been authorised to take action as they, being the senior officers of the Department, are expected to project their experience while invoking power under this section. The Director failed to live up to this expectation. He appears to have surrendered his reason to the report made by his Deputy/Assistant Director which was an attempt to initiate a fishing and roving inquiry for reasons best known to him as he did not consider it proper to place the result of " local inquiry " before the Director. Any complaint made by a person interested or disinterested should not be jumped upon and made an excuse to initiate proceedings unless it i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the informer. Estimate being made by an informer cannot tantamount to " information " within the meaning of section 132(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. If estimate alone can constitute information, then why should one act upon the estimate of an informer, because that sort of estimate can be made by the departmental authorities themselves, looking to the standard of living, reputation of the person in the society and the assets being ostensibly possessed by him. " Information " within the meaning of section 132(1) should be as accurate as possible having reference to the precise assets of a person and not of general nature and that should in all, probability, lead the authorities to have the unmistaken belief that money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable articles or things pointed out by the informer, would be found in the possession of the person named by the informer. No doubt, it is difficult to have direct evidence or foolproof case before making a search, but all efforts must be made by the authorities to ensure the correctness of the information and they should assure and reassure themselves about the truthfulness and correctness of information before taking any action vio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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