Devanatha Y. K. V. Income Tax Officer Ward 7 (2) (5) and Principal Commissioner of Income Tax 2 Bengaluru and National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) and Assessment Unit

WP/36541/2025

AI Insights

The petitioner, Devanatha Y. K., challenged multiple show cause notices, reassessment orders, and other related documents issued by the Income Tax Department for the Assessment Year 2019-20. These documents were issued under various sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961, including Sections 148A(b), 148A(d), 147, and 156. The petitioner argued that these actions were unjustified and sought their quashing. The court referenced a similar case, Ramachandra Reddy Ravi Kumar Vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, where a Co-ordinate Bench had ruled in favor of the petitioner on similar grounds. Consequently, the court allowed the petition, quashing all the contested documents and orders.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 821532 (HC-KARNATAKA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 05-12-2025
• Assessment Year: misc
• Other Referred Cases: Ramachandra Reddy Ravi Kumar Vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax - W.P.No.17352/2022
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: E J SANMATHI
• Assessee Lawyers: ABHIJITH BAPU
• Keywords: Assessment Year 2019-20; Digital Signatures; Electronic Upload; Income Tax; Show cause notice; Writ of Certiorari
• Section: 147; 270A; 144B; 271AAC(1); 148A(b); 148A(d); 151A; 272A(1)(d); 156

Judgement Text

" - 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 5TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 36541 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: 1. DEVANATHA Y. K. AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS 15, 5TH CROSS, 5TH MAIN 7TH BLOCK,4THPHASE BANASHANKARI 3RDSTAGE BENGALURU – 560 085. …PETITIONER (BY SRI. ABHIJITH S BAPU, ADVOCATE FOR SRI. SHREEHARI KUTSA, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. INCOME TAX OFFICER WARD 7 (2) (5) BMTC BUILDING, BMTC BHAVAN 80 FEET ROAD (NEAR SONY WORLD SIGNAL) KORMANAGALA, BANGALORE – 560 034. 2. PRINCIPAL ACOMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX 2 BENGALURU BMTC BUILDING, BMTC BHAVAN 80 FEET ROAD (NEAR SONY WORLD SIGNAL) KORMANGALA, BANGALORE – 560 034. 3. NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE (NFAC) A CENTRE DESCRIBED UNDER SECTION 144B OF THE INCOME TAX ACT 1961 ROOM NO.401 Printed from counselvise.com Digitally signed by SREEDHARAN BANGALORE SUSHMA LAKSHMI Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 2ND FLOOR, E-RAMP JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM DELHI – 110 003. REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER 4. ASSESSMENT UNIT A UNIT CREATED UNDER SECTION 144B OF THE INCOME TAX ACT 1961 ROOM NO 401, 2ND FLOOR E-RAMP, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM DELHI – 110 003. REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. E J SANMATHI, ADVOCATE) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASHING THE DIGITALLY SIGNED AND ELECTRONICALLY UPLOADED SHOW CAUSE NOTICES ISSUED UNDER SECTION 148A(B) OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 DATED 07.03.2023 BEARING DIN: ITBA/AST/F/148A(SCN)/2022-23/1050475713(1) ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT NO. 1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2019-20 AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE A1 AND ETC., THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR Printed from counselvise.com - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 ORAL ORDER In this petition, the petitioner seeks the following reliefs: \"i. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded show cause notices issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 07.03.2023 bearing DIN:ITBA/AST/F/148A (SCN)/ 2022-23/1050475713(1) issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2019-20 and enclosed as Annexure A1; and ii. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded show cause notices issued under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 15.03.2023 bearing DIN:ITBA/AST/F/148A (SCN)/ 2022-23/1050777399(1), issued by Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2019-20, which are produced as Annexures A2 respectively; and iii. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded order passed under Section 148A(d) of the Act dated 21.03.2023 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/F/148A/2022-23/1051029086(1), issued by Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2019-20, which is produced as Annexure B; and iv. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded notice issued under Section Printed from counselvise.com - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 148 of the Act dated 21.03.2023 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/148_1/2022-23/1051029262(1), issued by Respondent No. 1 in violation of Section 151A of the Act, which is produced as Annexure C; and V. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded reassessment order passed under Section 147 r/w Section 144B of the Act dated 08.02.2024 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/147/2023- 24/1060735890(1), issued by Respondent No. 4 for the Assessment Year 2019-20, which is produced as Annexure D1; and vi. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded computation sheet for AY 2019-20 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/319/2023- 24/1060736006(1) Issued by R4 dated 08.02.2024, which is produced as Annexures D2; and vil. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded demand notice issued under Section 156 of the Act for AY 2019-20 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/156/2023-24/1060736004(1) Issued by R4 dated 08.02.2024, which is produced as Annexures D3; and vili. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded penalty order under Section 272A(1)(d) dated 26.07.2024 bearing DIN: Printed from counselvise.com - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 ITBA/PNL/F/272A(1)(d)/2024-25/1067067197(1) issued by R4 enclosed as Annexure E1; and ix. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded penalty Order under Section 271AAC(1) dated 13.08.2024 bearing DIN: ITBA/PNL/F/271AAC (1)/2024-25/1067683917(1) produced as Annexures F1; and issued by R4 x. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded penalty Order under Section 270A dated 13.08.2024 bearing DIN: ITBA/PNL/F/270A/2024- 25/1067609138(1) produced as Annexures G1; and issued by R4 xi. Grant such other order(s) or direction(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit, in the interest of justice and equity.\" 2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondents and perused the material on record. 3. In addition to reiterating the various contentions urged in the memorandum of petition and referring to the material on record, learned counsel for the petitioner invited my attention to the order of a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Ramachandra Reddy Ravi Kumar Vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax - W.P.No.17352/2022 and connected matters - Printed from counselvise.com - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 dated 28.08.2025, in order to contend that the present petition deserves to be allowed and disposed of in terms of the said order. 4. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents submits that there is no merit in the petition and that the same is liable to be dismissed. 5. As rightly contended by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the present petition is directly and squarely covered by the decision of a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Ramachandra Reddy Ravi Kumar Vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax - W.P.No.17352/2022 and connected matters - dated 28.08.2025, the operative portion of which reads as under: \"13. I, therefore, pass the following: O R D E R (i) The impugned show cause notices issued by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer outside the scope of Section 151-A of the Act stand obliterated. All further proceedings initiated thereto, challenged in these cases would stand quashed. (ii) Liberty is reserved to the respondents - revenue to revive all these petitions in the event the Apex Court would hold in favour of the Revenue in the pending before it. Printed from counselvise.com - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 (iii) With the aforesaid liberty and to the aforesaid extent, the petitions are allowed. (iv) Contentions of both the parties except the one noted hereinabove, shall remain open to be considered in the event revival of these petitions would become necessary.\" 6. The aforesaid order is applicable to the facts and circumstances of the instant case and consequently, the present petition also deserves to be disposed of in terms of the judgment of Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in Ramachandra Reddy's case (supra). 7. In the result, I pass the following: ORDER (i) The petition is allowed and disposed of in terms of the decision of a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Ramachandra Reddy Ravi Kumar Vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax - W.P.No.17352/2022 and connected matters - dated 28.08.2025. (ii) The impugned show cause notices and consequential orders, notices etc., at Annexures-A1, A2, B, C, D1, D2, D3, E1, F1, G1 dated 07.03.2023, 15.03.2023, 21.03.2023, 21.03.2023, 08.02.2024, 08.02.2024, Printed from counselvise.com - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51193 WP No. 36541 of 2025 08.02.2024, 26.07.2024, 13.08.2024 and 13.08.2024 respectively, are hereby quashed. (iii) Liberty is reserved in favour of the respondents to seek revival of this petition, subsequent to disposal of the matters pending before the Hon’ble Apex Court and all rival contentions between the parties in this regard are kept open and no opinion is expressed on the same. Sd/- (S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR) JUDGE BSS List No.: 2 Sl No.: 27 Printed from counselvise.com "