Deepak Talwar Vs ITO (Delhi High Court)
Delhi HC Allows Additional Documents Because Section 311 CrPC Covers Documentary Evidence; Delhi HC Upholds Filing of Additional Offshore Account Documents Because They Were Mentioned in Complaint; Section 311 CrPC Can Be Invoked for Documents as Well as Witnesses, Rules Delhi HC.
The Delhi High Court dismissed six petitions filed under Section 482 Cr.P.C. challenging orders passed by the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) and the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), which had allowed the Income Tax Department’s application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. for placing additional documents on record in proceedings under the Black Money Act.
The matter arose from a search and seizure operation conducted on 22.06.2016 at the petitioner’s residence and business premises under the Income Tax Act. Statements were recorded under Section 132(4), though subsequently retracted. Based on the search, proceedings were initiated under the Black Money Act, 2015, and a complaint under Section 200 Cr.P.C. was filed on 31.05.2018 alleging offences under Section 51(1) read with Section 54 of the Black Money Act.
The complaint referred to Annexure “F”, which mentioned documents received from the FT&TR Division of CBDT under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). However, according to the petitioner, only a single-page Annexure “F” was filed with the complaint when cognizance was taken on 05.09.2018. About eight months later, the Income Tax Department filed an application under Section 311 Cr.P.C. seeking to place additional documents on record, stating that they could not earlier be filed due to inadvertence. The trial was then at the stage of pre-charge evidence.
