NANDLAL JAIGOPAL AGRAWAL vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL CIRCLE 2(2)

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SCA/20232/2021HC GujaratGJHC24071523202110 January 2022Bench: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA,HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE NISHA M. THAKORE2 pages
AI SummaryWithdrawn

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court held that the impugned assessment order, being an appealable order, necessitated the assessee availing the statutory alternative remedy of appeal before the Commissioner of Appeals under Section 251 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The court found that the writ applicant should pursue this appellate route rather than invoking the writ jurisdiction. The court explicitly stated that it had not gone into the merits of the case. The ratio decidendi is that statutory remedies must be exhausted before approaching the writ court for challenging assessment orders that are appealable. The operative direction was to permit the writ applicant to withdraw the application with liberty to file a statutory appeal, allowing all contentions to be raised before the Commissioner of Appeals.

What were the facts?

The writ applicant, Nandlal Jaigopal Agrawal, challenged an assessment order passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle 2(2), purportedly under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The assessment year(s) are not explicitly stated. The applicant filed a Special Civil Application before the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, seeking to question the legality and validity of this assessment order. The revenue was represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. The procedural history involves the filing of the writ petition and the subsequent hearing before the High Court.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the High Court should entertain a writ application questioning the legality and validity of an assessment order passed under Section 153C of the Income Tax Act, 1961, when an alternative statutory remedy of appeal is available. The assessee, through her counsel Ms. Nupur Shah, argued that the assessment order was illegal and invalid, implicitly suggesting that the writ jurisdiction was appropriate. The revenue did not present arguments as recorded in the judgment. The assessee relied on persuasive arguments to convince the court to entertain the writ. The judgment does not record any specific authorities, circulars, or precedents relied upon by either party.

Which sections of the Income-tax Act were involved?

Section 153C,Section 251

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

C/SCA/20232/2021 ORDER DATED: 10/01/2022 IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 20232 of 2021 ========================================================== NANDLAL JAIGOPAL AGRAWAL Versus ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL CIRCLE 2(2) ========================================================== Appearance: MS NUPUR D SHAH(10233) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 for the Respondent(s) No. 1 ========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA and HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE NISHA M. THAKORE

Date : 10/01/2022

ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA) 1 Ms. Nupur Shah, the learned counsel appearing for the writ applicant made a gallant effort to convince us to entertain this writ application questioning the legality and validity of the assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer upon completion of the proceedings under Section 153C of the Act. 2 We have heard some very persuasive arguments canvassed by Ms. Shah. But we are of the opinion that the impugned assessment order being an appealable order, the writ applicant should avail the statutory alternative remedy of appeal before the Commissioner of Appeals under Section 251 of the I. T. Act. 3 In view of the aforesaid and also upon request made by Ms. Shah, we permit Ms. Shah to withdraw this writ application with liberty to avail the alternative remedy of statutory appeal available to her client. It Page 1 of 2

C/SCA/20232/2021 ORDER DATED: 10/01/2022 is needless to clarify that all the contentions raised in this writ application can be raised even before the Commissioner of Appeals in the statutory appeal that the writ applicant may file. This writ application is, accordingly, disposed of as not pressed. We have otherwise not gone into the merits of the case. (J. B. PARDIWALA, J) (NISHA M. THAKORE,J) CHANDRESH Page 2 of 2

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