The Madras High Court Bench here on Tuesday directed Serija Banu alias Serina alias Janardhini alias Janani (28) of Madurai to pay Rs.97.18 lakh towards Income Tax for Rs.1.4 crore seized by the police from her house at Neelankarai in Chennai on July 10, 2003.
Partly allowing a criminal appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against a lower court order, Justice G.M. Akbar Ali held that the department was entitled to receive only the tax applicable for the seized money for the assessment years 2004-05 and 2005-06 and not the entire seizure of Rs.1.4 crore.
Allowing two other revision petitions filed by the 28-year-old woman through a common judgement, the judge directed a Special Court for narcotics cases here to return her car, passport and 21 sovereigns of gold jewellery besides the cash balance available after deducting the amount due towards income tax.
Recalling the history of the case, the judge said that the Karupayoorani police here had intercepted the car at the Ring Road here in 2003 and allegedly seized five kg of ganja and Rs.10 lakh in cash. Interrogation of the driver and Ms. Serija led to the arrest of her mother at their Madurai residence along with 15 kg of ganja and Rs.30 lakh.
Subsequently Rs.1.4 crore in cash, 10 kg of ganja and 21 sovereigns of gold jewellery were confiscated during a raid at their Chennai residence. The woman, her mother and the car driver were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. “The sensation it created is now, a past history,” the judge said.
After investigation, a charge sheet was filed before a Special Court here and trial was conducted. On appreciation of evidence, the Special Judge acquitted all the three accused on June 5, 2006. Pending trial, a Deputy Director of Income Tax department filed a petition seeking custody of Rs.1.4 crore seized from the accused.
However, Ms. Serija claimed that the cash belonged to one Jagadeesh Raja of Tirunelveli who, in turn, said that it was given to him by Ravi Chopra, a chartered accountant from New Delhi, for purchasing some waste lands.
Accepting the claim, the trial court ordered to hand over the money to the mother-girl duo and hence the present appeal.
Disagreeing with the trial court’s conclusion, Mr. Justice Akbar Ali said that there was no hassle in declaring that the huge amount hauled was an undisclosed income because neither Ms. Serija nor her mother claimed ownership. Mr. Chopra, who purportedly owned the money, had not file any application for return of the cash.
“There is no evidence to show that there is a person in the name of Ravi Chopra and he has given more than a crore of rupees to Jagadeesh Raja for investment in waste land and the same was given to a 21 year old young girl for safe custody. Neither she claims ownership nor does the said Jagadesh Raja claim ownership. But both of them want money to be returned to them,” the judge said.
Nevertheless, there was no other option but to declare Ms. Serija and her mother as the owners of the cash because it had been seized from them, the judge observed and ordered to return the money, deposited in a nationalised bank ever since its seizure, after deducting the amount towards income tax.
The Income Tax department had claimed that they were entitled to receive Rs.93.90 lakh including Rs.11.65 lakh towards belated filing of returns, Rs.22.50 lakh towards non payment of advance tax for the assessment year 2004-05. Similarly, they claimed Rs.3.28 lakh for the assessment year 2005-06.
Ms. Serija had filed the present revision petitions because the trial court had refused to release her car, passport and gold jewellery on June 19, 2007 on the ground that the case bundles had been sent to the High Court Bench which was seized of the appeal filed by the Income Tax department.
