Ia/13883/2023 Of Aarti Ramesh Chaurasia v. Deputy Director Of Income Tax And Ors

ARUNRAMCHANDRASANKPALDigitally signed byARUNRAMCHANDRASANKPALDate: 2023.07.3114:26:44 +0530 Arun IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAYCIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTIONINTERIM APPLICATION NO. 13883 OF 2023 IN WRIT PETITION NO. 9313 OF 2023 Aarti Ramesh ChaurasiaIn the matter betweenAarti Ramesh ChaurasiaVersusDeputy Director of Income Tax & Ors ...Applicant …Petitioner …Respondents Mr Atul Rajadhyaksha, Senior Advocate, with Amit Dubey, i/b Law Counsellors, for the Applicant/Petitioner.Ms Swapna V Gokhale, for the Respondent-Revenue. CORAMG.S. Patel &Neela Gokhale, JJ.DATED:31st July 2023 PC:- 1.The Petitioner encountered a Look Out Circular when sheattempted to travel overseas on 30th May 2023. Apparently, thisLook Out Circular or LOC was issued at the instance of the 1stRespondent, Deputy Director of Income Tax. 2.The Petitioner is the wife of the promoter of the ARC group.She is also independently assessed to tax. There is no dispute that the tax authorities carried out search and seizure of ARC entitiesand promoters, including the present Petitioner, on 15th February2022. 3.Mr Rajadhyaksha also draws our attention to acommunication dated 31st May 2023 from the Deputy Director ofIncome Tax Investigations to the FRRO Mumbai. This clarifies thatLOCs were indeed issued against inter alia the Petitioner and othersin his family. These are said to be without any expiry date and aresaid to be in force until there is a deletion request from theoriginator. But what follows in the second paragraph is important.Here, the Income Tax says that the appraisal report and the seizedmaterial and case records have been handed over to thejurisdictional assessing officer in central charge. There were nopending proceedings with the authority which triggered the LOC.The assessing officer was informed about the position of the LOCand it is he who said that the LOC will continue till 31st March2024, i.e., the due date for completion of assessment proceedings. 4.But the fact that there is an assessment proceeding does notalways or invariably justify the issuance of an LOC, nor does itjustify preventing a Petitioner from traveling overseas in exercise ofwell-settled fundamental rights. 5.On instructions, learned Counsel for the Income Tax saysthat the reason the LOC had to be issued was that there was a periodduring which the Petitioner could not be contacted. She did not answer his phone. She was found neither at his office nor at hisresidence. 6.We need not have any apprehensions on that score. After all,not only is the Petitioner before us, but so are his Advocates. MrRajadhyaksha reiterates the undertaking already given that thePetitioner will cooperate with the tax authorities and the assessingofficer and will be available whenever required to answer all queriesin the course of the assessment proceedings. 7.We have heard a group of petitions challenging the LOCs andthe office memoranda but those were cases where there were claimsby banks. This case perhaps stands on a slightly different footing.Even where there is a claim by the Income Tax and there arepending proceedings, it will have to be tested whether such an LOCcan be issued and, if issued whether it can be continued indefinitelyat the instance of the issuing authority with no predeterminedexpiry or validity date. 8.Hence admit. Respondents waive service. Affidavits in Replyto be filed and served by 28th September 2023. Affidavit inRejoinder to be filed and served by 21st September 2023. AllAffidavits are to be filed in the Registry. 9.In the meantime, the LOC in question is stayed until 10thSeptember 2023 since the Petitioner proposes to travel to Dubai inorder to accompany her pregnant daughter-in-law to doctor. Thispermission is subject to the usual conditions, viz.,- (a)the Petitioner is to file an undertaking to return to thiscountry at the end of this period, if not already done;country at the end of this period, if not already done; 8.Hence admit. Respondents waive service. Affidavits in Replyto be filed and served by 28th September 2023. Affidavit inRejoinder to be filed and served by 21st September 2023. AllAffidavits are to be filed in the Registry. 9.In the meantime, the LOC in question is stayed until 10thSeptember 2023 since the Petitioner proposes to travel to Dubai inorder to accompany her pregnant daughter-in-law to doctor. Thispermission is subject to the usual conditions, viz.,- (a)the Petitioner is to file an undertaking to return to thiscountry at the end of this period, if not already done;country at the end of this period, if not already done; (b)the Petitioner is to file a detailed itinerary with hiscontact details and addresses overseas, if not alreadydone;contact details and addresses overseas, if not alreadydone; (c)The Petitioner must file an undertaking (if not alreadydone) not to apply for renewal or extension of thisorder until she returns to this country.done) not to apply for renewal or extension of thisorder until she returns to this country. 10.Subject to these conditions, the LOCs in question against thePetitioner are stayed until 10th September 2023. 11.The immigration authorities at all ports of departureincluding all airports will permit the Petitioner passage and permitthe Petitioner to take his flights out of the country irrespective ofwhether the Income Tax Department has notified them or not andirrespective of whether this suspension is noted in the immigrationauthorities’ systems or not. 12.The immigration authorities will not ask for a certified copy ofthis order but will act on presentation of an authenticated or digitallysigned copy of this order. 13.The Interim Application is disposed of in these terms. Therewill be no order as to costs. (Neela Gokhale, J) (G. S. Patel, J) {