B. Rajkumar Vs Commissioner of Police (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court considered a Criminal Original Petition seeking directions to prevent tax officials from allegedly harassing the petitioner during enquiry or investigation. The petitioner alleged that GST officials were visiting his premises without following the procedure under the Tamil Nadu GST Act, 2017. The Court held that grievances concerning seizure or inspection by tax officials did not fall within the scope of criminal jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C./Section 528 BNSS.
It noted that even though Section 67(10) of the TNGST Act requires search and seizure to follow the Cr.P.C. procedure, this alone does not make such proceedings appropriate for exercising jurisdiction under Section 528 BNSS. The Court observed that the petitioner could challenge unlawful actions before the appropriate forum, make a specific criminal complaint if the conduct amounted to an offence, approach higher tax authorities for statutory violations, or invoke Article 226 where appropriate. The petition was accordingly disposed of while keeping the petitioner’s liberty to challenge actions of the tax authorities in accordance with law.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
The prayer in the Criminal Original Petition is directing the respondents 4 to 6 not to harass the petitioner under the guise of enquiry or investigation.
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