Ram Kishore Kadel Vs ACIT (Rajasthan High Court)
The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by Ram Kishore Kadel challenging an order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The court declined to entertain the petition, directing the petitioner to pursue the available alternative remedy of filing an appeal against the assessment order, which had already been passed.
The petitioner had approached the High Court assailing the validity of the order dated July 25, 2022, issued under Section 148A(d), a provision introduced to conduct an inquiry before initiating reassessment proceedings under Section 148 of the Act.
However, during the hearing, it came to the court’s attention that an assessment order in the case had been passed prior to the filing of the writ petition. The court noted that this crucial fact was not disclosed by the petitioner when the writ petition was initially filed. The court also observed that the petitioner had participated in the assessment proceedings after the Section 148A(d) order was issued and before the assessment order was finalised.
The High Court referred to its earlier decision in the case of Bhag Chand Jangid Versus Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Rajasthan & Others (D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5819/2023, decided on April 17, 2023). In that case, under similar circumstances where an alternative remedy was available, the court had refused to entertain the writ petition.
