Sneh Gupta Vs Union of India (Jammu & Kashmir High Court)
In Sneh Gupta vs Union of India (Jammu & Kashmir High Court), the court dismissed a writ petition filed by Sahil Mahajan, the legal heir of late Sneh Gupta, challenging an assessment order for AY 2014-2015. The court noted that statutory notices under Section 142(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, were duly served on Sahil Mahajan, who represented the deceased assessee. Despite alleging violations of natural justice, the petitioner failed to demonstrate any procedural improprieties or incompetence on the part of the Assessing Authority. Consequently, the court determined that the writ petition did not meet the exceptions for bypassing statutory remedies.
The judgment emphasized the well-established legal principle that writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution should not be invoked unless alternate remedies are unavailable or inadequate. It clarified that appeals against assessment orders must follow the statutory process outlined in the Income Tax Act, including remedies before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) under Section 246-A and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. Since the impugned assessment order was neither issued by an incompetent authority nor in violation of natural justice, and no challenge to the vires of statutory provisions was raised, the petition was found untenable.
