Companies Act, 2013
220.
Seizure
of documents by inspector.
1. Where in the course
of an investigation under this Chapter, the inspector has reasonable grounds to
believe that the books and papers of, or relating to, any company or other body
corporate or managing director or manager of such company are likely to be
destroyed, mutilated, altered, falsified or secreted, the inspector may—
a.
enter,
with such assistance as may be required, the place or places where such books
and papers are kept in such manner as may be required; and
b.
seize
books and papers as he considers necessary after allowing the company to take
copies of, or extracts from, such books and papers at its cost for the purposes
of his investigation.
2. The inspector shall
keep in his custody the books and papers seized under this section for such a
period not later than the conclusion of the investigation as he considers
necessary and thereafter shall return the same to the company or the other body
corporate, or, as the case may be, to the managing director or the manager or
any other person from whose custody or power they were seized:
Provided
that the inspector may, before returning such books and papers as aforesaid,
take copies of, or extracts from them or place identification marks on them or
any part thereof or deal with the same in such manner as he considers
necessary.
3. The provisions of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, relating to searches or seizures shall apply mutatis
mutandis to every search or seizure made under this section.