Accounts regularly maintained in course of business are to be taken as correct

[bpagrawal]

Accounts regularly maintained in the course of business are to be taken as correct

The next aspect which requires to be addressed is whether the books of accounts could have been rejected by the High Court on the ground that the entries had not been proven due to dispute of signatures solely on the foundation that the plaintiff had not examined the handwriting expert when there was a denial of the signature. We have already dealt with the factum of signature, the pleading and the substance in the evidence. The plaintiff No. 2, his accountant and other witness have categorically stated that the books of accounts have been maintained in the regular course of business. The same has not been disputed by the defendant. In such a circumstance, we may profitably reproduce a few lines from Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi v. Woodward Governor India Private Limited[8]: -
"One more principle needs to be kept in mind. Accounts regularly maintained in the course of business are to be taken as correct unless there are strong and sufficient reasons to indicate that they are unreliable."
29. Applying the said principle to the pleadings and the evidence on record, we find no reason that the books of accounts maintained by the plaintiff firm in the regular course of business should have been rejected without any kind of rebuttal or discarded without any reason.

Supreme Court of India
M/S Gian Chand & Brothers vs Rattan Lal @ Rattan Singh on 8 January, 2013
//http://www.lawweb.in/2013/06/accounts-regularly-maintained-in-course.html