Ratheesh Cheroor Balan Vs CIT (Appeals) (Kerala High Court)
Statutory Appeal Route Can’t Be Short-Circuited- ITAT Is the Forum, Not Article 226- Alternate Remedy Available, Writ Not Maintainable: Kerala HC Shows Red Card
Kerala High Court declined to entertain writ petition challenging assessment & penalty orders, holding that availability of effective alternate statutory remedy bars invocation of writ jurisdiction. In Ratheesh Cheroor Balan Vs. Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), NFAC & Ors., Assessee challenged assessment order & penalty order which had already culminated in appellate orders passed by CIT(A). Court noted that appellate orders dated 23.01.2024 & 28.08.2025 were appealable before ITAT & Assessee approached High Court belatedly without exhausting statutory remedy. Mere existence of alleged infirmities in appellate orders was held insufficient to bypass alternate remedy mechanism under Income-tax law. Accordingly, writ petition was dismissed, without prejudice to Assessee’s right to pursue appropriate statutory remedies before Tribunal.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KERALA HIGH COURT
The petitioner has submitted this writ petition challenging Ext.P5 order of assessment and Ext.P6 order of penalty. The petitioner had already filed appeals against the said orders and those culminated in Exts.P12 and P13 orders.
This writ petition is filed challenging the said orders. The learned counsel for the petitioner has raised various contentions with regard to the sustainability of Exts.P12 and P13. However, it is discernible from the records that, although Ext.P12 was issued on 23.01.2024, the petitioner filed the writ petition only now. Ext.P13 is consequent to the assessment order, which is confirmed as per Ext.P12 as well. Both Exts.P12 and P13 are appealable before the Tribunal. Thus, as the petitioner is having an effective alternate remedy to challenge the same, I do not find any justifiable reason to entertain this writ petition.
