TMI Blog1975 (8) TMI 38X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... premises in possession of Shri Mulkh Raj Mahajan but also the portion which was in possession of the petitioners. They pointed out to the Authorised Officer that the search of the portion of the house in their possession was totally illegal because there were no proper warrants for that purpose with the Authorised Officer. Upon this, it is alleged that the Authorised Officer remarked that the question of getting warrants authorising the search of the portion in possession of the petitioners would also be settled immediately. In this connection, a telephone call was made to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Chandigarh, and roughly within about 15 minutes the requisite search warrant was sent to the Authorised Officer, even ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that blank warrants were placed at the disposal of the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, Chandigarh, by the Income-tax Commissioner for conducting search of the premises of un-named persons and one such warrant was utilised for conducting the search in the instant case. On behalf of the respondents, the issuance of the blank warrants of authorisation is not denied. Respondent No. 1 in his reply-affidavit dated February 22, 1975, has stated as follows: "It is admitted that the warrants of authorisation signed by the deponent were entrusted to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner at Chandigarh for use in the case of the sons of Shri Mulkh Raj Mahajan. The use of these forms duly signed by the Commissioner after recording hi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... information on the basis of which statutory belief could be formed. The search of the premises of the petitioners must be declared to be illegal on this ground alone and we order accordingly. In H. L. Sibal's case 1, we also held with reference to rule 112 of the Rules framed under the Act that the Commissioner of Income-tax is under law expected to sign a warrant of authorisation which is complete in all respects. There is abundant authority in support of the proposition that it "general warrants are no warrants at all because they know no one". After discussing leading cases on the subject, E. Slade has observed as under in Thomas and Bellot's Leading Cases on Constitutional Law, 1934 edition, on page 145: "The illegality of such wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on of the petitioner to them. The petitioners will also be entitled to have their costs. R. S. NARULA C.J.-I entirely agree with the order proposed by my learned brother Sharma J. and endorse every word of what my Lord has said. At the same time I have not been able to restrain myself from adding a few words mainly because I feel so strongly about the patent illegality involved in the issue of a blank warrant of authorisation by the Commissioner in this case. One of the grounds on which the constitutional validity of section 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, has been upheld is that no warrant of authorisation for search can be issued without the satisfaction of as high an officer in the official hierarchy of the income-tax department as t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it came under a severe attack in the Court of King's Bench in Wilkes' case where search was conducted on the basis of a mere warrant which neither specified the name of Wilkes nor the papers which were sought to be recovered as a result of the search. It was argued before the King's Bench that the case extended far beyond Wilkes personally as it touched the liberty of every subject of the country, and if such a warrant was found to be legal, it would shake the most precious inheritance of Englishmen. It was argued that "In vain has our house been declared, by the law, our asylum and defence, if it is capable of being entered, upon any frivolous or no pretence at all, by a Secretary of State." It was observed that of all offences, that of s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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