Banwari Lal Agarwal Vs Union of India And Anr. (Calcutta High Court)
The Calcutta High Court heard a writ petition challenging a sanction order for prosecution dated 13th June 2023 under Section 279(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The petitioner contested the order on two primary grounds: first, violation of principles of natural justice for not granting a personal hearing despite his request dated 11th June 2023; and second, alleged non-compliance with CBDT Circulars No. 24/2019 (9th February 2019) and No. 5/2020 (23rd January 2020), which require prior approval from a collegium of two CCIT rank officers before initiating prosecution in certain cases. The petitioner asserted that this prior approval was neither obtained nor shared with him.
The respondent, represented by Mr. Dutt, argued that the sanction order was legally valid and compliant with the CBDT circulars. However, he was unable at the hearing to produce the order evidencing the prior approval of the collegium and could not justify the denial of a personal hearing to the petitioner. Mr. Dutt requested additional time to obtain instructions and present the original approval record.
Given the circumstances, the Court adjourned the matter to 27th July 2023 to allow the respondent to produce the original sanction order and address the allegation regarding the denial of a personal hearing. Meanwhile, the Court directed that no further proceedings based on the impugned sanction order would take place until 31st July 2023 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
