BPS Infrastructure Vs ITO (Chhattisgarh High Court)
Chhattisgarh High Court has dismissed a review petition filed by Bps Infrastructure, which sought to overturn an earlier order dated April 12, 2024, in TAXC No. 87/2024. The petitioner had requested the High Court to remand the matter to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Raipur, for a merits-based consideration of its application.
Bps Infrastructure contended that it was denied an adequate opportunity for a proper hearing, leading to a miscarriage of justice. The company’s counsel argued that while the Division Bench’s previous order extracted significant portions of their written submissions, it failed to provide a speaking order addressing why their contentions were unacceptable or how the legal principles relied upon were distinguishable. The petitioner also highlighted that the ITAT had dismissed their original appeal solely on grounds of delay, rather than on merits, and that the High Court’s earlier deliberation on merits was inappropriate given the ITAT’s basis for dismissal.
The respondent’s counsel supported the High Court’s previous order, arguing against the review.
The High Court, after reviewing the impugned order, reiterated the well-settled principle that the scope of review jurisdiction is “extremely limited.” It emphasized that only an “error apparent on face of record” can be corrected, and a re-appraisal or re-appreciation of the case, which would constitute exercising appellate jurisdiction, is impermissible. The Court cited several Supreme Court precedents to support this stance, including Devaraju Pillai v. Sellayya Pillai (1987), Meera Bhanja (Smt) v. Nirmala Kumari Choudhury (Smt) (1995), Lily Thomas etc. v. Union of India and others (2000), and Sasi (D) through LRS. v. Aravindakshan Nair and others (2017).
