Ravi Agrawal Vs Union of India & Another (Supreme Court of India)
In Ravi Agrawal vs Union of India, the petitioner filed a writ under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking the Supreme Court’s intervention for retrospective application of amendments made to Section 80DD of the Income Tax Act. This section addresses deductions related to payments for the benefit of disabled dependents. The petitioner argued that the amendments introduced by the Finance Act 2022, effective from April 1, 2023, should apply to older policies to benefit a larger group of subscribers. However, the Court rejected this plea, emphasizing that the original purpose of Section 80DD was to provide financial security to disabled individuals after the death of the caregiver. The Court reasoned that altering the terms of policies already in place would undermine the original contract terms, which were intended to ensure long-term protection for disabled dependents. Moreover, the Court ruled that applying the amendment retrospectively would contradict the commercial nature of insurance policies. As a result, the Court upheld the current law, and the petition was dismissed.
FULL TEXT OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT/ORDER
This writ petition is filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India as a Public Interest Litigation seeking the following prayers to be granted in exercise of powers of this Court under Article 142 of the Constitution:
“a. Issue a writ of Mandamus under Article 32 of the Constitution of India or any other appropriate writ, order or directions under Article 142 of the Constitution of the India to the Respondents to execute/carry out the decision/directions of the Central Information Commission given on 27th June, 2019 in the Second Appeal No.CIC/LICOI/A/ 2018/611292-BJ of the Petitioner.
b. Issue a writ of Mandamus under Article 32 of the Constitution of India or any other appropriate writ, order or directions under Article 142 of the Constitution of the India to the Respondents to take cognizance of the judgment passed by the Apex Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No.1107 of 2017 dated January 03, 2019 and initiate suitable necessary action accordingly.
c. Issue order or directions to annul/strike down clause(a) of sub-section (2) of Section 88DD of the Income Tax which is against the objective of the legislation and violating the fundamental rights of the handicapped person provided under Article 14 of the Constitution of the India.
d. Pass such other orders and further orders as may be deemed necessary on the facts and in the circumstances of the case.”
2. We have heard Mr. Partha Sil learned counsel who has been appointed to assist this Court and learned senior counsel Mr. Kailash Vasdev for Respondent No.2 and learned senior counsel Ms. Nisha Bagchi for Respondent-Union of India and perused the material on record.
