IT raid was improper: Madhya Pradesh HC

Mp The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled against an Income Tax raid, conducted at the Bhopal residence of the then Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora about five years back, and the warrant issued in that connection. Acting Chief Justice Krishn Kumar Lahoti and Justice MA Siddiqui issued the verdict on Thursday. The bench, which also quashed the seizure made during the search, said it appeared as if the warrant was issued in view of a 'delay' in allotment of residence to an officer of the Income Tax Department. The Court perused all the documents submitted with regard to the warrant and ruled that action was taken sans sufficient basis. In his petition, Indian Administrative Service Officer Rajora said, 'My residence was raided on May 30, 2008 due to the warrant issued by the Department's Director (Investigation). Only 435 g gold jewellery, Rs 27,767, silver utensils and other belongings worth about Rs 2 lakh were found.' The plea said that Mr SS Rana -- who issued the warrant -- submitted an application on January 23, 2008 for allotment of residence. The subsequent process took about four months. In May that year, Mr Rana submitted an application directly to the Chief Minister and the work was done expeditiously. UNI