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PETITIONER: THE COLLECTOR OF MALABAR
Vs.
RESPONDENT: ERIMAL EBRAHIM HAJEE
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 11/04/1957
BENCH: IMAM, SYED JAFFER BENCH: IMAM, SYED JAFFER DAS, SUDHI RANJAN (CJ) DAS, S.K. MENON, P. GOVINDA SARKAR, A.K.
CITATION: 1957 AIR 688 1957 SCR 970
ACT: Income Tax--Arrears of--Wilfully withholding and evading payment--Arrest of assessee to recover arrears--Whether illegal--Indian Income Tax Act, s. 46 (2)--Madras Revenue Recovery Act (Mad. II of 1864), s. 48-_Constitution of India, Arts. 14, 19, 21 and 22.
HEADNOTE: The Income Tax Officer forwarded a certificate under s. 46(2) of the Indian Income Tax Act to the Collector for recovering the arrears of Income Tax from the assesses as if they were arrears of land revenue. The Collector proceeded under s. 48, Madras Revenue 971 Recovery Act, and had the assessee arrested and confined in jail. Upon a petition for a writ of habeas corpus the High Court ordered the release of the assessee holding that s. 48 of the Madras Revenue Recovery Act and s. 46(2) Of the Indian Income Tax Act were ultra vires. The Collector appealed. Held, that S. 48 Of the Madras Revenue Recovery Act, and S. 46(2) of the Indian Income Tax Act were not ultra vires and neither of them violated Arts. 14,19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. Where the personal liberty of a person is lawfully taken away under Art. 21,...