Jodhpur ITAT Quashes Search Assessment for Mechanical Section 153D Approval

By CA Vijayakumar Shetty Income Tax Judiciary July 30, 2026

TaxGuru Citation: 2026 taxguru.in 9799
Case Name: Mahender Jakhar Vs ITO (ITAT Jodhpur)
Appeal Number: Only available for paid members
Date of Judgement/Order: Only available for paid members
Related Assessment Year: 2017-18
Courts: All ITAT, ITAT Jodhpur

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Mahender Jakhar Vs ITO (ITAT Jodhpur)

The Jodhpur ITAT quashed the assessment framed under sections 153A/153B after holding that the mandatory approval granted under section 153D was merely mechanical and without independent application of mind. The Tribunal noted that the Joint Commissioner had accorded a common approval for seven assessment years in a single order, without recording any indication that the draft assessment orders had been examined or that any independent thought process had been applied. Relying on the decisions of the Orissa High Court in ACIT v. Serajuddin & Co., the Delhi High Court in PCIT v. Shiv Kumar Nayyar, and the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the Revenue’s SLP in Serajuddin & Co., the Tribunal held that approval under section 153D is a mandatory safeguard and cannot be reduced to a mere rubber-stamping exercise. Since the statutory approval lacked due application of mind, the assessment itself was held to be non est, null and void, and was accordingly quashed. Having allowed the legal ground, the Tribunal did not adjudicate the merits of the addition under section 69A relating to cash seized by the police.

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