JUDGMENT

Dipak Misra, J.

In these appeals the assail is to the legal tenability of the order dated 3.9.2003 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Civil Writ Petition No. 275 of 2000 whereby the High Court has quashed the search and seizure conducted on 16.2.2000 in the factory premises of the 1st respondent.

2. Filtering the unnecessary details, the facts that constitute the filament of the controversy is that the 1st respondent is engaged in the manufacture of C.I. pipes, fittings and manholes and has obtained the licence under the Central Excise Act. The factory in question has been filing income-tax returns under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for brevity ‘the Act’). On 16.2.2000 when the sole proprietor of the factory Shri Om Prakash Agarwal was absent, the officer of the Income Tax Department conducted a search both at the residential as well as the business premises. During the search of the residential premises, son of the sole proprietor was informed by the Income Tax Officer that the search operations were also being conducted at the factory premises. Despite such information he was not allowed to leave the house. Assailing the search and th