Raghav Kumar Vs ACIT (ITAT Delhi)
These appeals arose from search-based assessments initiated u/s 153C against Assessee based on WhatsApp chats & photos of envelopes allegedly found in the mobile phone of a third party (Mr. Praveen Kumar Jain) during search on the Hans Group. AO presumed that Assessee had given cash loan of ₹22.50 Cr to Mahagun India Pvt. Ltd. & received assured interest @12%, & accordingly made additions u/s 69 (unexplained investment) & u/s 69A (cash interest).
Assessee denied any such transaction, pointed out that his name did not even appear on the envelope photo, there was no date, no agreement, no receipt, no corroboration, & even Mahagun India Pvt. Ltd. (the alleged recipient) categorically denied any transaction with him. Importantly, in Mahagun’s own 153C assessment for the same year, no addition was made at all, demolishing Revenue’s allegation.
Assessee also argued that:
- This was an unabated assessment, so as per Singhad Technical Education (SC), additions u/s 153C can be made only if incriminating material exists.
- The so-called material was just third-party WhatsApp chats / unsigned slips / vague figures, which are dumb documents, untested, uncorroborated, & have no evidentiary value in law.
- Even the satisfaction note was a copy-paste from the searched person’s AO, showing borrowed satisfaction & no independent application of mind.
- Reverse calculation of principal from alleged interest is pure guesswork & not permissible under search law.
Tribunal noted that:
- There was no incriminating material linking Assessee.
- Envelopes did not bear his name.
- The sheet with “Raghav(F)” was unsigned, unidentified, &
- Whatsapp chats lacked context, not confronted to parties, no follow-up, no confirmation.
- Mahagun Group itself denied any transaction.
- No independent enquiry or corroboration done by AO.
- Entire addition was based on assumptions & reverse engineering.
Further, Tribunal relied on several Supreme Court & High Court decisions (Sunil Kumar Sharma, Krutika Land, Vinita Chaurasia, Ankush Saluja, Allied Perfumers, S.R. Trust) holding that unsigned loose sheets or third-party digital data without corroboration cannot justify 153C or additions u/s 69/69A.
