Judgment :- 1. Six accused were sent up for trial before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam for the offences punishable under S.193 read with S.109 I.P.C., S.471 read with S.465 I.P.C. and S.277 and 278 of the Income Tax Act. All these accused were found guilty of haying committed various offences and the first accused was sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/-each for the offences under S.193 and 471 read with S.465 I.P.C. The 2nd accused was sentenced to undergo imprisonment till the rising of the court and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- for the offence under S.193 I.P.C. and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- under S.471 read with S.465 I.P.C. and in default of payment of fine to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of 2 months each for the sentences awarded under S.193 and 471 read with S.465 I.P.C. Accused Nos. 3 to 6 were sentenced to undergo imprisonment till the rising of the court and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- each for the offences under S.193 read with S.109 I. P. C. and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- each for the offence under S.471 read with S.465 and 109 I.P.C. with the usual default sentence of two months' imprisonment. Criminal R.P. No. 193 of 1984 has been filed by the first accused which is a private limited company and Crl. R. P. No. 6 of 1984 has been filed by accused Nos. 2 to 6. They are members of the Board of Directors and the Secretary. Both these criminal revision petitions were jointly heard and the matter is being disposed of by this common judgment. 2. The first accused Company has its registered office at Bombay with branch factory at Thripunithura. On 30-12-1967 the Company filed Income Tax returns before the Income Tax Officer, Bombay for the assessment year 1967-68. Subsequently these assessment proceedings were transferred to the Income Tax Officer, B Ward, Company Circle, Ernakulam. In these proceedings the first accused produced cash book and ledger for the year ending 31-3-1967 and in the accounts produced by the first accused for the assessment year 1967-68 there was an entry relating to the receipt of Rs. 30,000/- from M/s. K.R.P. Chettiyar and Sons, Trichinapoly. The entry was dated 24-3-1967. In these proceedings the first accused produced cash book and ledger for the year ending 31-3-1967 and in the accounts produced by the first accused for the assessment year 1967-68 there was an entry relating to the receipt of Rs. 30,000/- from M/s. K.R.P. Chettiyar and Sons, Trichinapoly. The entry was dated 24-3-1967. The prosecution case is that this is a false entry and there was not even a concern in the name and style M/s. K.R P. Chettiyar, Trichinapoly and therefore the accused intentionally fabricated the cash bock and ledger. The accused bad also produced some more documents before the Income Tax Officer to make it appear that they bed in fact received Rs. 30,000/- from K.R.P. Chettiyar and Sons. 3. On the side of the prosecution PWs.1 to 12 were examined and several documents were marked and the trial court accepted the prosecution case and convicted the accused as aforesaid and the conviction and sentence have been upheld by the lower appellate court. 4. The revision petitioners challenge the conviction and sentence on several grounds. It has been contended that the Income Tax proceedings were pending before the Income Tax Officer, B Ward, Company Circle, Ernakulam and Ext. P 65 assessment order was also passed on 22-3-1972 and thereafter the entire proceedings were transferred to the office of the I.T.O., Special, Circle, Ernakulam as per Ext. P1 order dated 18-7-1982 and the prosecution has been launched against the accused by the Income Tax Officer, Special Circle, Ernakulam, who bad no authority to file such a complaint, as the offence, if any, was committed before the I.T.O, B Ward, Company Circle, Ernakulam. Another contention urged by the revision petitioners is that the entire prosecution was on the basis of Ext. P65 order dated 22-3-1972 and this assessment order was subsequently set aside by the appellate court and therefore the prosecution has no more independent existence since the whole matter has been reversed by the appellate court. The learned counsel for the accused also submitted that the trial court should not have taken cognizance of the offence as the prosecuting agency has not fully complied with the relevant provisions. 4A. The first contention is that the entire prosecution was based on Ext. P 65 assessment order and the same was later set aside by the appellate court and therefore there was no basis for the initiation of the prosecution. 4A. The first contention is that the entire prosecution was based on Ext. P 65 assessment order and the same was later set aside by the appellate court and therefore there was no basis for the initiation of the prosecution. It is not fully correct to say that the prosecution has been launched on the basis of Ext. P.65 assessment order. The gist of allegation against the accused was that they gave a false information to the Income Tax Department to the effect that they had received Rs. 30,000/- from one K.R.P. Chettiyar. It is also alleged that the accused made certain false entries in their accounts and produced certain receipts regarding the payment and return of this Rs. 30,000/-. It is pointed out by the counsel who appeared for the Income Tax Department that these allegations of false entry in the registers were not specifically dealt with by the appellate court and therefore the prosecution has got independent existence. A case of this nature came before the Supreme Court in P. Jayappan v. S.K. Perumal (1984 S.C.C. (Supp) 437). There His Lordship Venkataramiah J. speaking for the Full Bench held: "In the criminal case all the ingredients of the offence in question have to be established in order to secure the conviction of the accused. Though the criminal court no doubt has to give doe regard to the result of any proceeding under the Act having a bearing on the question in Issue and in an appropriate case it may drop the proceedings in the light of an order passed under the Act, but it does not mean that the result of a proceeding under the I.T. Act would be binding on the criminal court. The criminal court has to judge the case independently on the evidence placed before it." 5. Moreover, the revision-petitioners herein had raised a contention before this Court on an earlier occasion by filing Crl. M.P. No. 221 of 1976. This Court repelled this contention in the decision in Balakrishnan v. Income tax officer, Ernakulam and another (1976 K.L.T. S61) by stating that the prosecution initiated by the Income Tax Officer has independent existence irrespective of what happened to assessment proceedings. M.P. No. 221 of 1976. This Court repelled this contention in the decision in Balakrishnan v. Income tax officer, Ernakulam and another (1976 K.L.T. S61) by stating that the prosecution initiated by the Income Tax Officer has independent existence irrespective of what happened to assessment proceedings. There is a specific object in making these proceedings independent, for, where the officers feel that they cannot by themselves impose sufficient penalty in certain cases, law should provide means to enable the said officers to move appropriate courts to render appropriate punishments commensurate with the gravity of the offences. Therefore the plea of the revision petitioners that the final assessment order was set aside by the appellate court is no ground to set aside the conviction. 6. The next contention is that in the present case the revision-petitioners submitted returns to the I.T.O., B Ward, Company Circle, Ernakulam and the assessment order was also passed by the same officer. However, the complaint was filed by the I.T.O., Special Circle, Cochin and according to the revision-petitioners the I.T.O., B Ward, Company Circle, Ernakulam who passed Ext. P65 assessment order alone could have filed the complaint in view of S.195 (1) (b) of the Cr. P.C. The learned counsel for the revision-petitioners placed reliance on the decision reported in I.T.O. Special Circle, Ernakulam v. Kerala OH Mills (1986 KLT. 947). That is a case where the complaint was filed by the I.T.O., Special Circle, Ernakulam, though the income tax proceedings were pending before the I.T.O., B Ward, Alleppey. This Court held that the I.T.O. Special Circle, Ernakulam was not competent to file the complaint. This decision, though arises on similar facts, the same cannot be made applicable to the instant case for the reason that the decision reported in Balakrishnan v. I.T.O.. Ernakulam (1976 K.L.T. 561) would operate as res judicata and that decision that the Income Tax Officer is not a civil court and therefore the non-conformity of the procedure laid down under S.340 Cr. P.C. does not affect the prosecution is to be accepted. 7. The question that may arise for consideration is whether the principle of rea judicata is applicable is the case of criminal proceedings. There is a string of decisions to the effect that the general principles of res judicata would apply to criminal proceedings. P.C. does not affect the prosecution is to be accepted. 7. The question that may arise for consideration is whether the principle of rea judicata is applicable is the case of criminal proceedings. There is a string of decisions to the effect that the general principles of res judicata would apply to criminal proceedings. The Supreme Court decided a case in State of Rajasthan v. Tarachand (A.I.R. 1973 S.C. 2131). That is a case where the accused in a prosecution for offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act challenged that there was want of sanction by the authorities. The accused initially filed an application questioning the validity of the sanction. The Special Judge considered the matter and passed the order. The same was challenged by the accused in revision. A Division Bench of the High Court held that the order of sanction passed by the Chief Minister was correct and there was proper sanction for prosecution. After the above order of the High Court the Special Judge considered the case and found the accused guilty. That judgment was challenged in appeal by the accused before the High Court and the question of want of sanction was also raised in the appeal. The appeal filed by the accused was accepted and the conviction was set aside on the ground of being null and void in the absence of proof of valid sanction. The Supreme Court held that the judgment of the earlier Division Bench of the High Court was binding in a subsequent proceedings of the sains case. The above decision applies with full force to the facts involved in this case. A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in Gulab Chand Sharma v. H.P. Sharma (1974 I.T.R. Vol. 95117) held that the decision in a previously decided writ petition would operate as res judicata in a subsequently instituted suit between the same parties. The Court relied on Gulabchand Chotalal Parikh v. State of Gujarat (A.I.R. 1965 S.C.1153) wherein it was held that the difference in the nature of the two proceedings is immaterial if the matter decided inter parties in one proceedings is the same which is to be determined in the subsequent proceedings and the parties to the suit were also parties to the writ petition. In an earlier decision namely, Sambusivan v. Public Prosecutor, Federation of Malava (1950 A. C.458,479 (PC) it was held: "The effect of a verdict of acquittal pronounced by a competent court on a lawful charge and after a lawful trial is not completely slated by saying that the person acquitted cannot be tried again for the same offence. To that it must be added that the verdict is binding and conclusive in all subsequent proceedings between the parlies to the adjudicational. The maxim 'res judicata pro veritate accipitur' is no less applicable to criminal than to civil proceedings." The general principles of res judicata are applicable to similar cases. That apart, in this case the revision petition challenged the proceedings by filing a criminal miscellaneous petition and there it was held that there was no infraction of the procedure laid down under S.340 Cr.P.C. and that the Income Tax Officer is not a civil court as envisaged under S.195 Cr.P.C. This finding is binding on parties, especially when the decision was entered in the very same proceedings. The petitioners cannot be heard to say that this Court should rely on a subsequent decision and decide the matter accordingly without paying heed to the earlier decision between the parties. This contention cannot be accepted. If the revision petitioners had any grievance against the earlier order passed in the Crl. M.P. they should have challenged the matter in higher forums. So long as it was not challenged, it has become final and the revision petitioner cannot be allowed to urge the same points at a later stage. 8. In view of the above discussion it is clear that the conviction and sentence entered against the revision petitioners are not open to challenge on the basis that the complaint was filed by an incompetent person. All the revision petitioners have been found guilty by the Courts below. The lower courts have considered the evidence in detail and I see no reason to invoke the revisional jurisdiction of this Court to interfere with the finding entered against the revision-petitioners. Therefore, both the revision petitions fail and the same are dismissed.