The Magistrate has the power to order that the books and documents seized by the Customs authorities should be handed over to the Income-tax authorities, who should in their turn hand them over to the petitioner.

The short facts of this case are as follows : The petitioner carries on business at 10th Mile, Kalimpong in the State of West Bengal. On or about the10th. of November, 1956 the Collector of Land Customs, Calcutta, respondent No. 1, caused searches to be made at the petitioner's business premises at Kalimpong. This kind of search is permitted under Sec. 172 of the Sea Customs Act, whereby the Customs authorities can make an application before the District Magistrate having jurisdiction in the area to issue a search warrant for the search and seizure of articles, books and documents of the kind mentioned in the said section. This is what was done in the present case. It appears that various articles as well as books of account and documents were seized by the Land Customs authorities. The petitioner objected to the seizure and it further appears that the Collector, Land Customs issued a show cause notice upon the petitioner on or about January 3, 1958. The petitioner showed cause and on the 4th of June, 1958 the Collector of Land Customs ordered the return of the articles. With regard to the books and documents, the Collector of Land Customs, Calcutta, informed the petitioner that the books were under examination and would be returned when they were done with. This application has been made on the footing that although a long time had expired, the Land Customs authorities were not making over the books and documents to the petitioner. In the meanwhile, what had happened was that some time in April, 1957 summons was Served on the Land Customs Department by the Income-tax Officer. Jalpaiguri-Darjeeling, for production if the seized books and documents, in connection with the assessment of income-tax of the petitioner, and the same had to be complied with. On or about the 27th of March, 1957 the Sub-Divisional Officer, Kalimpong, issued an order on the Customs Department, directing that all seized books of account and documents should be handed over to the Special Police Establishment, which" was also done. Some time in July, 1958 the books and documents were returned by the Special Police Establishment and the Land Customs authorities communicated the matter to the Commissioner of Income-tax, West Bengal. It appears that thereafter, so far as the Land Customs authorities are concerned, they have no further use for the books and documents and are prepared to hand them over. An application was however made by the Income-tax authorities to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate. Kalimpong, to the effect that these books and papers should be made over to the Income-tax authorities for a time. On the 29th of December, 1958 an order was made, directing the Collector of Customs, Calcutta to make over the papers to the Income-tax Office Siliguri who should retain them in custody for three months and thereafter return them to the party from whom they were seized. This order was slightly erroneous because it is not the Collector of Customs, Calcutta who is in possession but the Collector of Land Customs, Calcutta. A petition was made for amendment of the order, and on the 7th of January, 1959 the Magistrate made an order that the papers should be made over by the Collector of Land Customs in terms of the order dated the 29th of December, 1958. The position, now, therefore, is that the learned Magistrate who had ordered the search warrant to issue, has now directed that the: papers should be handed over to the Income-tax authorities for a limited period of time, after which they should be made over to the petitioner, I might mention here that upon this Rule having been issued, there was an interim order, whereby the status quo has been maintained and the Collector of Land Customs could not make over the papers to the Income-tax authorities. In this application, the Income-tax authorities were not made parties. When the application came to be heard, I felt that no satisfactory order could be made without hearing the Income-tax authorities, an