Buckeye Trust Vs Registrar (Karnataka High Court)
Karnataka High Court disposed of a writ petition filed by the assessee seeking a direction to defer income-tax appellate proceedings before the ITAT Mumbai until the President of the Tribunal decided the assessee’s transfer application. The petitioner had raised serious concerns regarding an earlier ITAT order allegedly generated using Artificial Intelligence, which was subsequently recalled. The petitioner contended that since the Judicial Member who authored the AI-driven order intended to hear the case again, it would give rise to “apparent bias,” violating the principle that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done. On 19.08.2025, the High Court had granted an interim stay on further proceedings before the concerned Judicial Member, while clarifying that the stay would not restrict the ITAT President from considering the transfer application. Pursuant to this direction, the President of the ITAT reassigned the matter to a different bench. In view of this development, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that the writ petition had become unnecessary and could be disposed of, while reserving liberty to the petitioner to pursue appropriate remedies if any adverse order was passed in the future. Accepting this submission, the Karnataka High Court disposed of the petition as infructuous, noting that the grievance no longer survived since the case had already been transferred to another bench.
