Rakesh Gupta to have alleged with respect to the planting the material. No attempt was made during the course of hearing, before the AO or the ITAT to suggest that the material allegedly planted had not been included in the inventory or list of items recovered. Furthermore, none of the letters contemporaneously written by Ashok Chawla, in fact alleged such conduct. As a result, this Court holds that these allegations like in the case of mala fides have not been proved. The record also shows that after Chawla lodged a criminal complaint for cheating, the parties reached a settlement, involving payment of amounts by Rakesh Gupta. The credibility of the affidavits relied upon, by Ashok Chawla, in these circumstances is suspect, to put it mildly. 31. As far as the alleged illegalities in the timing of the search, or that it was improbable that searches took place at two places - argued with certain vehemence by learned senior counsel, this court is of the opinion that nothing much turns on these so called infirmities. For one, the factual nature of these allegations, i.e., as to timing, as to presence of certain pancha or recovery witnesses, renders it somewhat difficult to substantiate. From a broader angle, whether the search occurred at 08:00 AM or an hour later, is left for verification by affidavits signed by the witnesses much after the event. Their signatures on the panchnamas at the time of the search belie the affidavits. These arguments at best could establish some irregularities, for which the Revenue might have had a perfect or plausible explanation, if made in time. However, even if accepted at face value, such facts cannot undermine the search, the recoveries effected or in any case and the validity of the block assessments. The assessee/Ashok Chawla‟s submissions in this regard are therefore, rejected.
