HC : Discharges taxpayer from ‘hurriedly’ launched prosecution as tax-demand agitated before various fora

Madras HC discharges assessee-individual from the prosecution launched u/s. 276C(2) for non-payment of determined tax; Notes that since the assessee was agitating his case before various fora [CIT(A) / ITAT], he did not pay the income-tax demand raised of Rs. 14.84 lakh and thereby prosecution was launched against him, however upon being successful in appeal, the demand itself was reduced substantially; HC remarks that, “the very edifice on which the prosecution was launched against the accused, has crumbled like a pack of cards,”, holds that, “it cannot be stated that the accused was willfully evading the payment of tax.”; Rejects Revenue’s stand that assessee cannot be discharged from the prosecution as tax was due from him when the prosecution was launched, also remarks that, “There was no supine indifference on the part of the accused in not paying the demanded tax, but, on the contrary, he had agitated before various fora and ….”; HC opines that there was no necessity for the IT Dept. to have launched the prosecution hurriedly, “since the law of limitation u/s. 468 Cr.P.C. for criminal prosecution has been excluded by the Economic Offences (Inapplicability of Limitation) Act, 1974.”:HC