ITO Vs Late Bhupendra Bhikhalal Desai (Since Decd.) Through His Legal Heir Raju Bhupendra Desai (Supreme Court of India)
Summary: The Supreme Court was concerned with the challenge to the Gujarat High Court judgment in the case of Late Bhupendra Bhikhalal Desai (Since Decd.) Through Legal Heir Raju Bhupendra Desai Vs ITO. The High Court had allowed the writ petition and quashed the notice issued under Section 153C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the consequential order, holding that a notice issued to a dead person was unenforceable in law.
For the relevant assessment year, the original assessee had filed his return on 6 January 2012 under Section 139. The High Court recorded that he died on 23 April 2017, while the submission of his counsel referred to 28 April 2017. A notice dated 29 March 2019 under Section 153C was nevertheless issued in the name of the deceased. His son, Raju Bhupendra Desai, subsequently informed the Department of the death and requested that the proceedings be dropped. The Department rejected the objection, relying, among other provisions, on Sections 124(3)(c), 139A(5)(d), 140, 153C and 2(31), and contending that the legal heir had not earlier informed the Department or surrendered the deceased’s PAN.
