Commissioner Of Income Tax,Allahabad & ... vs Ms. Vindhya Metal Corporation & Ors on 5 March, 1997
Learned counsel for the petitioner has referred to the judgment of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court reported in Commissioner of Income Tax vs Vindhya
Metal Corporation and others, (1997) 224 ITR 614 to contend that the seized
asset should be released in favour of the petitioner. However, we find that such
judgment has no application to the facts of the present case. In the aforesaid case
the amount of Rs.4,63,000/- was seized by the Income Tax Department believing it
to be a stolen property. However, during the course of investigation, it was found
that it was not a stolen property. Since in the aforesaid case, a finding of fact was
recorded that the amount is not a stolen property, therefore, the amount was
ordered to be released by the Allahabad High Court, which order was affirmed by
the Hon'ble Supreme Court. But in the present case, the basic question whether
the asset is a disclosed asset is yet to be examined by an authority under the Act.
Therefore, no such direction as sought by the petitioner can be granted at this
stage.