Approval to Reopening by officer superior to Addl. DIT U/s. 151(2) is invalid

One of the grounds urged in the present petition is that since the original assessment was processed under Section 143 (1) of the Act, and since the reopening was after the expiry of four years from the end of the relevant AY, the approval for the reopening of the assessment had to be granted, in terms of Section 151 (2) of the Act, by an officer of the rank of Joint Commissioner, which in this case was the Additional Director of Income Tax (Addl. DIT). However, in the present case the approval was granted under Section 151 (2) by the DIT who was an officer superior to the Addl. DIT. It is acc...