Mary Gene Gracious Vs ITO (Bombay High Court)
The Bombay High Court has declared notices issued under Section 148 and Section 148A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to a deceased individual as non-est and void ab initio. The court was addressing a petition filed by Mary Gene Gracious, whose husband, Gene Gracious, was the recipient of these notices despite having passed away in 2016. The ruling effectively voids the entire reassessment proceeding initiated by the Income Tax Department.
The petitioner argued that the notices, including a show-cause notice under Section 148A(b) dated May 26, 2022, and a subsequent order and notice under Sections 148A(d) and 148 both dated July 29, 2022, were invalid because they were issued against a person who had died on November 9, 2016. The petitioner presented a death certificate as evidence. The Income Tax Department’s counsel conceded that the notices should not have been issued to the deceased.
Jurisprudence on Actions Against Deceased Persons
The High Court’s decision rests on a fundamental principle of civil jurisprudence: that a person against whom any action is being taken must be given a reasonable opportunity to defend themselves. The court, citing the Supreme Court’s holding in UMC Technologies Private Limited vs. Food Corporation of India, emphasized that this basic right is impossible to fulfill when the person is deceased. Since the foundational requirement of hearing the assessee could not be met, the entire process under Section 148A and 148 was without legal basis and of no consequence. The court noted that even the legal heirs could not be bound by an order that was non-est.
