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Reported :
25 Impounding of documents : Scope of power u/s.131(3) of
Income-tax Act, 1961 : Document does not include passport : Passport cannot be
impounded u/s.131.
[Avinash Bhosale v. UOI, 322 ITR 381 (Bom.)]
In a writ petition challenging the authority of impounding of
the passport with reference to S. 131(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Bombay
High Court held as under :
“(i) In Suresh Nanda’s case (2008) 3 SCC 674, the Supreme
Court was dealing with power of a Court to impound a document and, in that
context, held that ‘document’ does not include a passport.
(ii) If by an interpretative process the Supreme Court held
that even a Court cannot impound a passport, then, it would be highly
inappropriate to interpret the term ‘documents’ used in S. 131(3) of the
Income-tax Act, 1961, so as to enable the executive authorities to impound the
passport.
(iii) A passport cannot be impounded u/s.131 of the Act.”
