Supreme Court of India
Dhakeswari Cotton Mills Ltd vs CIT (Supreme Court)
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 29/10/1954
AUTHOR: MAHAJAN, MEHAR CHAND (CJ)
BENCH:
MAHAJAN, MEHAR CHAND (CJ)
DAS, SUDHI RANJAN
HASAN, GHULAM
BHAGWATI, NATWARLAL H.
AIYYAR, T.L. VENKATARAMA
CITATION: 1955 AIR 65 | 1955 SCR (1) 941
ACT:
Constitution of India, Art. 136-Appeal by Special Leave-Supreme Court’s power-Indian Income-tax Act (XI of 1922), s. 23(3)-Assessment when invalid.
HEAD NOTE:
It is not possible to define with any precision the limitations of the powers conferred on the Supreme Court by Art. 136 of the Constitution. This is an overriding and exceptional power and should be exercised sparingly and with caution and only in special and extraordinary situation. Beyond this no set formula, or rule can stand in the way of or fetter the exercise of the power conferred on the Supreme Court under Art. 136 of the Constitution. Sufficient safeguard and guarantee for the exercise of this power lie in the trust reposed by the Constitution in the wisdom and good sense of judges of the Supreme Court. This power is not hedged in by technical hurdles of any kind when it is called in aid against any arbitrary adjudication or for advancing the cause of justice or for giving a fair deal to a litigant so that in justice may not be perpetrated or perpetuated. Conclusiveness or finality given to any decision by any domestic law cannot dater the Supreme Court from exercising the power conferred under Art. 136 of the Constitution.
The powers given to the Income-tax Officer under s. 23(3) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, however wide, do not entitle him to base the assessment on pure guess without reference to any evidence or material. An assessment under section 23(3) of the Act cannot be made only on bare suspcion. An assessment so made without disclosing to the assessee the information supplied by the departmental representative and without giving any opportunity to the assessee to rebut the information so supplied and declining to take into consideration all materials which the assesses wanted to produce in support of his case constitutes a violation of the fundamental rules of justice and calls for the powers under Art. 136 of the Constitution.
Seth Gurmukh Singh v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Punjab (1944 I.T.R. 393) approved.
JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 217 of 1953. Appeal from the Judgment and Order dated the. 16th day of January, 1950, of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Calcutta in Income-tax Appeal No. 4658 of 1948-49 and E.P.T.A. No. 1137 of 1948-49.
N. C. Chatterjee and Veda Vyas, (S. K. Kapoor and Ganpat Rai, with them) for the appellant.
