· Notice under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 was issued in the name of a dead person. The said notice was duly received by the petitioner as the legal heir of the dead person. The petitioner participated in the same as a legal heir.
· Notice under Section 158BD of the Act was issued to the petitioner on the basis of information coming to light in the course of search. Aggrieved, the petitioner moved the High Court and on dismissal of the writ petition filed, the present Special Leave Petition was instituted.
· The petitioner urged that if the original search warrant was invalid, the consequential action under Section 158BD would also be invalid.
· The Apex Court, however, observed that the issue of invalidity of the search warrant was not raised at any point of time prior to the notice under Section 158BD. In fact, the petitioner had participated in the proceedings of assessment initiated under Section 158BC of the Act.
· The Court dismissed the petition filed by the petitioner concluding that the information discovered in the course of search, if capable of generating the satisfaction for issuing a notice under Section 158BD, cannot altogether become irrelevant for further action under Section 158BD of the Act.
For further reading, refer the attachment.
Further Reading