Meher Chand Mahajan, C. J. - (1.) Writ Petitions Nos. 330 to 333 of 1954. though presented by different persons, raise identical questions for consideration and decision and can be conveniently disposed of by one judgment.
(2.) In April 1947 Taxation on Income (Investigation Commission) Act, 1947, Act 30 of 1947 was passed by the Central Legislature. By S. 3 of the Act the Central Government was empowered to constitute an Income-tax Investigation Commission for investigating matters relating to taxation on income with particular reference to the question whether the existing law was adequate for preventing the evasion thereof. Section 5(1) of the Act further empowered the Central Government to make a reference by the 30th June, 1948 to the Commission for investigation and report of any cases wherein it had 'prima facie' reason for believing that a person had, to a 'substantial extent', evaded payment of taxation on income. The date for making the reference was subsequently extended to 1st of September, 1948. By an Amendment Act passed in 1948 it was provided that the life of the Commission, in the first instance, would be up to the 31st of March, 1950, but that it could be further extended to 31st of March, 1951. By subsequent legislations the life of the Commission has been extended to December 1955.
(3.) The procedure prescribed by the Act for making the investigation under its provisions is of a summary and drastic nature. It constitutes a departure from the ordinary law of procedure and in certain important aspects is detrimental to the persons subjected to it and as such is discriminatory. The substantial differences in the normal procedure of the Income-tax Act for catching escaped income and in the procedure prescribed by Act 30 of 1947, were fully discussed by this Court in -'Suraj Mal Mohta and Co. vs. A. V. Visvanatha Sastri', AIR 1954 SC 545 (A), and require no further discussion here.;