Kripa Shankar Mahawar Vs Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax-1 (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court, in Kripa Shankar Mahawar vs. Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax-1, addressed a writ petition challenging the validity of an assessment order dated 28th March, 2025, pertaining to the assessment year 2019-2020. The petition contended that the assessment proceedings were initiated by issuing a notice under section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in the name of Laxmi Kant Mahawar, who had passed away on 12th January, 2020. The petitioner, Kripa Shankar Mahawar, submitted a reply to the notice, informing the Income Tax authorities of the death and asserting that the proceedings had become null and void.
Despite being informed of the death, the Income Tax Department continued the proceedings and issued subsequent notices in the name of the petitioner without properly acknowledging his status as the legal heir of the deceased. The impugned assessment order ultimately listed Laxmi Kant Mahawar as the assessee while recording the petitioner’s name in the address column, described as “Legal Heir Kripa Shankar Mahawar.”
The petitioner argued that initiating proceedings against a deceased individual constituted a fatal and incurable defect that invalidated the assessment. He also noted that other legal representatives of the deceased had not been served, further vitiating the process. In support, he cited the judgment in Bhupendra Bhikhalal Desai vs. Income Tax Officer (2021 SCC Online Guj 3074), which emphasized that assessments issued in the name of a deceased person are not valid. The Department, however, contended that any defects identified by the petitioner did not nullify the proceedings and relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Commissioner of Income Tax vs. Jai Prakash Singh (1996) 85 Taxman 407.
