Sashi Bhusan Prasad Bhuian Vs State of Jharkhand (Jharkhand High Court)
The Jharkhand High Court considered a criminal revision challenging the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge-II, Dhanbad, which had affirmed the conviction and sentence imposed by the Special Judge (Economic Offences), Dhanbad under Section 277 of the Income Tax Act. The petitioner had been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six months along with a fine of ₹5,000. The appellate court had upheld the conviction, leading to the present revision.
The prosecution case was that the petitioner, an employee of Eastern Coalfields Limited and an income tax assessee, filed his income tax return for Assessment Year 2002-03 claiming an annual income of ₹1,81,050 and sought a refund of ₹35,500 on the basis of excess tax deduction and exemption relating to a housing loan. During enquiry, it was found that the TDS certificate relied upon had not been issued by the employer and that no housing loan had been sanctioned in favour of the petitioner. A show cause notice was issued, to which the petitioner replied that he was not an educated person and had requested an office clerk to file his return, asserting that the return had been filed without his instructions and that he had not claimed any refund.
