K.J. Shetty, C.J.

1. Swadeshi Cotton Mills Company Limited (" the Company ") is the petitioner in this writ petition. The company has got branches at Kanpur, Naini, Pondicherry, Maunath Bhanjan, Rai Bareilly and Udaipur. Its registered office is at Kanpur. Each branch has been maintaining separate books of account. In December, 1975, the business premises and registered office of the company were searched by the Income-tax Department under Section 132(1) of the Income-tax Act (for short "the Act"). The authorities seized voluminous records and account books and removed them in five almirahs and two steel trunks.

2. The Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, D-Range, Kanpur, examined the account books seized. He found that the accounts were of a complicated nature. Accordingly, he submitted a report to the Commissioner of Income-tax, Kanpur, seeking approval for special audit as required under Section 142(2A) of the Act. He had suggested in his report that the chartered accountant appointed for that purpose may have to visit various units of the company and get the accounts verified there itself.

Accepting the aforesaid report, the Commissioner of Income-tax made a