ANANTHARAJU KRISHNARAJU vs. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

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WP/38046/2025HC KarnatakaKAHC01082286202529 July 2026Bench: B M SHYAM PRASAD4 pages
AI SummaryWithdrawn

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court of Karnataka did not decide on the merits of the challenges to the notices and the assessment order. Instead, the Court accepted a memo filed by the petitioner seeking to withdraw the writ petition. The petitioner requested liberty to file a fresh petition if circumstances warranted. Consequently, the Court dismissed the petition as withdrawn. No findings were made on the validity of the Section 153C notice, the Section 143(2) notice, the assessment order, or the demand notice. The direction sought for the disposal of the appeal by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) was also not addressed on its merits due to the withdrawal of the petition.

What were the facts?

The petitioner, Anantharaju Krishnaraju, filed a writ petition before the High Court of Karnataka challenging several notices and an assessment order issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (R1) for Assessment Year 2016-17. The challenged actions included a notice under Section 153C dated 22/02/2019, a notice under Section 143(2) dated 29/10/2019, an assessment order under Section 153C read with Section 143(3) and Section 153D dated 31/12/2019, and a notice of demand under Section 156 dated 31/12/2019. The petitioner also sought a writ of mandamus directing the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (R4) to dispose of an appeal filed against the assessment order. The appeal was filed on 30.01.2020.

What were the issues?

The primary issue was whether the notices and assessment order issued by the revenue authorities for Assessment Year 2016-17 were valid and legally sustainable. The petitioner sought to quash these actions. Additionally, the petitioner requested a direction for the expeditious disposal of their appeal by the appellate authority. The specific questions of law or mixed law and fact turned on the validity of the proceedings initiated under Sections 153C and 143(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the subsequent assessment order and demand. The judgment does not record specific arguments from either the petitioner or the revenue regarding the merits of the challenges to the notices and assessment order, as the petition was withdrawn.

Which sections of the Income-tax Act were involved?

Section 153C,Section 143(2),Section 143(3),Section 153D,Section 156

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

HC-KAR IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 29TH DAY OF JULY, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD WRIT PETITION NO. 38046 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN:

ANANTHARAJU KRISHNARAJU SON OF SHRI N ANANTHA RAJU (LATE), AGED ABOUT 69 YEARS, NO. 165/2, DARASANI PALYA, BANNERGHATTA ROAD, BENGALURU 560076. …PETITIONER (BY SMT. RAMA P., ADVOCATE FOR SRI. SHREEHARI.,ADVOCATE)

AND:

1.

THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL CIRCLE 1(2), BENGALURU, CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, QUEENS ROAD, BENGALURU 560001

2.

PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (CENTRAL), BENGALURU THE SPECIFIED AUTHORITY UNDER SECTION 151 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, QUEENS ROAD,

Digitally signed by VANAMALA N Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA HC-KAR BENGALURU 560004

3.

ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL RANGE-1, BENGALURU, CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, QUEENS ROAD, BENGALURU 560004

4.

COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, APPEAL, CIT(A) , BENGALURU - 11, THE APPELLATE AUTHORITY UNDER THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, COFFEE BOARD BUILDING, 2ND FLOOR, DR. AMBEDKAR ROAD, OPP. VISHVESHVARIAH TOWER, BENGALURU - 560001. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. M. DILIP ,ADVOCATE A/W SRI. VINAYAKA S. PANDIT, ADVOCATE)

THIS W.P. IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 & 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASHING OF THE DIGITALLY SIGNED AND ELECTRONICALLY COMMUNICATED NOTICE U/S 153C OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, DATED 22/02/2019 ISSUED BY THE R1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016- 17 WHICH BEARS THE NOTICE NO. ITBA/AST/S/153C/ 2018-19/1015139182(1) AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-D. B) QUASHING OF THE DIGITALLY SIGNED AND ELECTRONICALLY COMMUNICATED NOTICE U/S 143(2) OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, DATED 29/10/2019 ISSUED BY THE R1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 WHICH BEARS THE DIN HC-KAR NO. ITBA/AST/S/143(2)-3/2019-20/1019540564(1) AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-E. C) QUASHING OF THE ELECTRONICALLY COMMUNICATED ASSESSMENT ORDER U/S 153C R.W.S. 143(3) R.W.S. 153D OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 DATED 31/12/2019 ISSUED BY THE R1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-F1. D) QUASHING OF THE ELECTRONICALLY COMMUNICATED NOTICE OF DEMAND UNDER SECTION 156 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, DATED 31/12/2019 ISSUED BY THE R1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-F2. E) ISSUE A WRIT OF MANDAMUS OR ANY OTHER SUITABLE WRIT DIRECTING THE R4 TO DISPOSE OF THE APPEAL FILED BY THE PETITIONER AGAINST THE ASSESSMENT ORDER PERTAINING TO ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 AS HAVING RENDERED ACADEMIC/INFRUCTUOUS BY RESERVING LIBERTY IN FAVOUR OF THE PETITIONER TO SEEK REVIVAL /RESTORATION IF THE OCCASION SO ARISES PURSUANT TO FILING OF APPEAL BY THE PETITIONER IN FORM 35 ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-J FILED ON 30.01.2020.

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD HC-KAR ORAL ORDER

The learned counsel for the petitioner has filed a memo for withdrawal which reads as under.

"The petitioner seeks to withdraw the present petition filed before this Hon'ble Court with liberty to file a fresh petition. The petitioner may be granted liberty to reinstitute the proceedings if the circumstances warrant."

The memo is accepted and the petition stands dismissed as withdrawn.

Sd/- (B M SHYAM PRASAD) JUDGE

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