Revenue Cannot Be Inconsistent In Filing Appeals

Larger Bench of SC Ruling-whether the revenue can be precluded from filing an appeal even though in respect of some other years involving identical dispute no appeal is filed

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2092 OF 2006

Commissioner of Income Tax. Central, Kanpur…Appellant

Versus

J.K. Charitable Trust, Kamal Tower, Kanpur….Respondent

With
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1698 OF 2008

With
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1699 OF 2008

With
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2423 OF 2006

With
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 682 OF 2007

CORAM: Justice Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, Justice C.K. THAKKER and Justice LOKESHWAR SINGH PANTA

Date of Judgment: November 7, 2008

Whether the revenue can be precluded from filing an appeal even though in respect of some other years involving identical dispute no appeal is filed. merely because in some cases revenue has not preferred an appeal that does not operate as a bar for the revenue to prefer an appeal in another case where there is just cause for doing so or it is in public interest to do so or for a pronouncement by the higher court when divergent views are expressed by the different High Courts. In this case, it is accepted by the learned counsel for the appellant-revenue that the fact situation in all the assessment years is same. According to him, if the fact situation changes then the revenue can certainly prefer an appeal notwithstanding the fact that for some years no appeal was preferred. (Para 17)