Jitendra Shankarlal Mistri Vs ITO (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court considered a batch of writ petitions, treating Special Civil Application No. 7485 of 2026 as the lead matter, in which the petitioner challenged the order dated 15.11.2025 rejecting objections to the reopening of assessment, the notice dated 30.03.2025 issued under Section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the reassessment order dated 10.03.2026. The common issue in all the petitions was the validity of the reopening proceedings.
The background of the matter was a search conducted on or about 11.11.2022 at the premises of Khavda Travels Limited. According to the respondents, the premises were used for carrying on a cash financing business. During the search, a statement of Shri Deepak Audichya was recorded under Section 132(4) of the Act, in which he stated that interest at the rate of 2% to 3% per month was received on cash loans advanced and interest at the rate of 1% to 1.5% per month was paid on cash loans received. The respondents also relied on the books of Khavda Property & Finance, which reflected cash receipts of ₹59,06,680 and cash payments of ₹55,50,760, aggregating to ₹1,14,57,440.
Following the search, the respondents issued notices under Section 142(1) dated 11.10.2025, 23.11.2025 and 13.01.2026. The petitioner filed objections to the reopening and a reply to the show cause notice on 21.01.2026.
