SURESH vs. THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

WP/200256/2024HC KarnatakaKAHC03011807202313 August 2025Bench: JYOTI MULIMANI3 pages

AI SummaryDismissed

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court held that the rejection of the petitioner's request for documents pertaining to Mr. Hastimal Thanaji Jain was just and proper. The reasoning provided is that the information sought pertains to a third party, and there is no public interest involved in the assessment order, which is personal and held in a fiduciary capacity. Therefore, the petitioner's request could not be acceded to. The Court found no merit in the writ petition and consequently dismissed it. No specific assessment years or amounts in dispute were mentioned in the judgment. The operative direction was to dismiss the writ petition.

What were the facts?

The petitioner, Suresh, filed a writ petition seeking a Writ of Certiorari to quash an endorsement dated March 15, 2023, issued by the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Hubli (respondent). He also sought a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondent to consider his applications (Annexures-B, C, and D). The petitioner had requested documents such as IT acknowledgment copy, IT Return copy, Computation of total income copy, Own A/c Copy, Balance sheet copy, and Assessment order copy pertaining to Mr. Hastimal Thanaji Jain. The Income Tax Department declined to consider the representation, leading to the present writ petition.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the rejection of the petitioner's request for documents pertaining to a third party, Mr. Hastimal Thanaji Jain, is just and proper, considering the nature of the information sought and the absence of public interest. Assessee's Contention: The petitioner sought specific documents related to Mr. Hastimal Thanaji Jain. The judgment does not record specific arguments made by the petitioner's counsel regarding the justification for seeking these documents or challenging the rejection directly, other than filing the writ petition. Revenue's Contention: The respondent, through its endorsement, declined to provide the requested information. The judgment implies that the revenue's stance, which was upheld by the court, is that the information sought pertains to a third party and there is no public interest involved, as the assessment order is personal and held in a fiduciary capacity.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

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HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4641 WP No. 200256 of 2024

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA KALABURAGI BENCH DATED THIS THE 13TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI MULIMANI WRIT PETITION NO.200256 OF 2024 (T-IT) BETWEEN:

SURESH S/O SHAH HASTIMAL JAIN, AGED ABOUT 60 YEARS, OCC: BUSINESS, R/O. NALATWAD, TQ. MUDDEBIHAL, NOW AT 74/1, AKKIPETH MAIN ROAD, BENGALURU-53. …PETITIONER

(BY SRI. PRAMODKUMAR PATIL, ADVOCATE FOR SRI. RAMCHANDRA K, ADVOCATES)

AND:

THE PRL. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, C.R. BUILDING, NAVANAGAR, HUBLI-580025.

…RESPONDENT (BY SRI. M. TIRUMALESH, ADVOCATE)

THIS WRIT PETITION IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, SEEKING CERTAIN RELIEFS.

THIS WRIT PETITION IS LISTED FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN ‘B’ GROUP, THIS DAY, AN ORDER IS MADE AS UNDER:

Digitally signed by THEJAS KUMAR N Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA

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HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4641 WP No. 200256 of 2024

ORAL ORDER Sri.Pramodkumar Patil., counsel on behalf of Sri.Ramchandra.K., for the petitioner has appeared in person. Sri.M.Tirumalesh., counsel for the respondent has appeared through video conferencing. 2. The captioned Writ Petition is filed seeking a Writ of Certiorari to quash the endorsement dated 15.03.2023 issued by the respondent vide Annexure-E and a Mandamus directing the respondent to consider the application of the petitioner vide Annexures-B, C and D. 3. Counsel for the respective parties urged several contentions. Heard the arguments and perused the Writ papers with care. 4. Suffice it to note that the petitioner submitted representations to the respondent requesting to furnish documents such as IT acknowledgment copy, It Return copy, Computation of the total income copy, Own A/c Copy, Balance sheet copy and Assessment order copy pertaining to Mr.Hastimal Thanaji Jain. The Income Tax Department declined

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HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC-K:4641 WP No. 200256 of 2024

to consider the representation. In my view, the rejection is just and proper. The reason is simple. The information sought by the petitioner pertains to third party and there is no public interest involved in the Assessment Order as the same is personal and held in the fiduciary capacity. Hence, the request of the petitioner cannot be accorded. The Writ Petition is liable to be dismissed. 5. Resultantly, the Writ Petition dismissed.

Sd/- (JYOTI MULIMANI) JUDGE TKN List No.: 2 Sl No.: 52

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