Judgement

WANCHOO, CJI.:- These five appeals on certificates granted by the Madras High Court raise common questions of law and will be dealt with together. We shall give brief facts in one of the appeals (No. 150 of 1967) arising out of writ petition No. 1321 of 1964 in order to understand the questions that fall to be decided in the present appeals. On August 19, 1964, at about 5.00 p. m. the officers of the Commercial Tax Department (hereinafter referred to as the Department) raided the premises of Zenith Lamps and Electricals Ltd., (hereinafter referred to as the Company). It is said that the premises were searched and a suit-case was seized and forcibly removed by the officers who made the raid in spite of the fact that they were informed that the box did not contain any papers or documents belonging to the Company and its contents consisted merely of personal effects of one of the Managing Directors, namely, Shri Ramkrishan Shrikishan Jhaver. The raid and search were made by the authorities concerned on information that Shri Goenka, one of the Directors of the Company had removed a box containing secret accounts relating to it. The main contention of the petitioner in support