ORDER

1. Between 30-9-1998 and 15-10-1998, the premises of the respondents was searched under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"). The search party was headed by one Harinder Kumar who had been appointed as the authorised officer for the purposes of Section 132 of the Act by the Commissioner of Income Tax.

2. Almost two years after the search was carried out when the assessments of the respondents were sought to be completed, the respondents filed a writ petition in the High Court at Punjab and Haryana impugning not only the search which had been carried out but also assailing the authority of the assessing officer to carry out the assessments. The High Court did not accept the submissions of the respondents insofar as they had challenged the validity of the search. The only issue on which the writ petition was allowed and the assessments made in favour of two of the respondents herein were quashed was that the assessing officer was the same Harinder Kumar who conducted the search.

3. The High Court invoked the principle that a person could not be a judge in his own cause to hold that the assessments could not have been carried out in resp