R.SHARMA,J. - (1.) CIVIL Writ No. 150 of 1975 filed by Shri Hira Lal Sibal, Senior Advocate, challenging the legality of the search warrant of his office-cum-residence issued under Section 132 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter called "the Act"), came up for hearing on January 13, 1975, when the Motion Bench passed the following order i "notice of Motion for January 20, 1975. Notice of the prayers for interim relief for. January 20, 1975. In the meantime ex parte interim relief is granted as prayed for in paragraph 32 (II) (v) to (viii) of the petition. No order to be passed under Section 132 (5) of the 1961 Act. Operation of any order already passed but not yet communicated to the petitioner is stayed. "
(2.) SHRI S. C. Sibal, the advocate of the petitioner, noted down the above order and went to the office of the Income-tax Officer to inform her about it. He reached her office at about 2. 30 p. m. when she was not present there and a clerk of her office was shown this order. The said clerk copied it out in his own handwriting and stated that he would place it before the Income-tax Officer when she returned. The clerk also informed Mr. S. C. Sibal that the Income-tax Officer had gone to the office of the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, Mr. J, S. Dulat. What happened thereafter is given in paragraph 3 of the affidavit sworn by Shri S. C. Sibal, which reads as under : "that the deponent with the order of the hon'ble High Court and the copy of the petition left immediately for the office of the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner where he reached at about 2. 45 p. m. The Income-tax Officer was sitting in the office of the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner. She was shown the order of the hon'ble High Court which she read herself. She further remarked that if the order had been obtained earlier, she would have been saved the trouble of processing this case. At that time, Mr. J. S, Dulat, Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, was not sitting in the office. After a few minutes, the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner also came to the office. He also read the order of the hon'ble High Court, The deponent told them that the hon'ble High Court has stayed the passing of the final order in the case of Mr. H. L. Sibal. " At about 3'45 p. m. a peon of the office of the Income-tax Officer came with the order of the said officer in duplicate and approached Mr. Hira Lal Sibal. In this order it was mentioned that Shri H. L. Sibal should produce Shri Kapil Sibal and Shri Baikunth Lal before the Income-tax Officer in her office on January 14, 1975. Shri H. L, Sibal retained one copy of this order and made an endorsement on the other copy of the order to the effect that this court had stayed further proceedings in the case. The copy of the order on which Shri Sibal made the endorsement at 3'45 p. m. is present on the record of the office of the Income-tax Officer.
(3.) ON January 14, 1975, the following news item appeared in the Daily Tribune : "search of advocated residence challenged : (From our Correspondent.) Chandigarh, January 13--A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice of motion in the Writ Petition of Mr. H. L. Sibal, a Senior Advocate, and. former Advocate-General of Punjab, challenging the search by the income-tax authorities of his office and residence and seizure of some cash and documents. The Chief Justice, R. S. Narula, and Mr. Justice M. L. Verma, on a prayer made by Mr. Kuldip Singh, counsel for the petitioner, stayed further proceedings and passing of the final order by the income-tax authorities under Section 132 of the Income-tax Act regarding the retention of the seized property. The judges further directed the income-tax authorities to produce original search warrants and also the record showing information received by the Income-tax Commissioner on the basis of which the search was made. " ;