any document properly on the record is just as much a public document as the final order

18. यह क माननीय Madras High Court Katikineni Venkata Gopala ... vs Chitluri
Venkataramayya on 30 April, 1940 Equivalent citations: AIR 1940 Mad 768 के
अपने महवपूण याय ात के पैरा 22, मे कहहैllहै रकॉड पर रखखे सभी दतावेजात उतने ही लोक
दतावेज है जतना क अंतम आदेश रकॉड मे उपल लोक दतावेजात को परभाषत कया है
उ आदेश का वचारणीय पद ननानुसार है :
22. As the learned Judges who have made the reference have pointed out, a
plaint or a written statement has always been regarded by this Court as forming
part of the record of a case and a public document of which an interested party
may obtain a certified copy. If the argument, that an income-tax return is not a
public document, but that the order passed thereon is, were carried to its logical
conclusion, it would mean that no part of the record of a civil suit could be
regarded as constituting a public document except evidence recorded by the
Court or summonses or notices or interlocutory orders or the judgment in the
case.

In Bhagain Megh Banee Koer v. Gooroo Petahad Singh (1876) 25 W.B. 68
Garth, C.J. and Birch J. expressly held that a petition which was the subject-
matter of an order passed was part of the record in the suit, and I do not think
that this can reasonably be doubted. In my judgment, it would be putting an
unwarranted restriction on the words "documents forming the acts or re. cords
of the acts" to say that they should be confined to those parts of an income-tax
record which the Income-tax Officer has himself prepared and to exclude
documents which he has himself called for or which have been admitted to the
record for the purposes of the assessment. I consider that the record of an
income-tax case must be regarded as the record of the acts of the Income-tax
Officer in making his assessment and therefore that any document properly on
the record is just as much a public document as the final order of assessment.
For these reasons I would answer the question propounded in the affirmative. I
would make the costs of this reference costs in the cause
19. यह क ाथ/अपीलाथ को हतगत करण के आवेदन म वांछत सूचना/दता