Deepak Talwar Vs ITO (Delhi High Court)
Delhi HC: Additional Documents Can Be Filed in Criminal Tax Prosecution – “Truth Cannot Be Sacrificed for Technicalities”
The Delhi High Court upheld the Income Tax Department’s right to place additional documents on record in a prosecution under the Black Money Act, 2015, even after cognizance and summoning of the accused. The Court held that merely filing additional documents already referred to in the complaint does not amount to amendment of the complaint, and that the wide powers under Section 311 Cr.P.C. permit courts to allow both oral and documentary evidence if necessary for a just decision.
The prosecution against Deepak Talwar arose from alleged undisclosed offshore assets and foreign bank accounts discovered during search proceedings. The Department explained that certain DTAA/FT&TR documents from foreign jurisdictions, though referred to in the complaint and annexures, could not be physically filed earlier due to inadvertence/non-availability. Rejecting the accused’s argument that criminal complaints cannot be “amended” after cognizance, the Court clarified that curable procedural defects should not defeat substantive justice. It emphasized that the object of criminal trial is to discover the truth, and courts possess wide discretionary powers to permit additional evidence where it aids a fair adjudication and causes no irremediable prejudice to the accused.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI
