Devanatha Y. K. S. 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/36576/2025

AI Insights

The case involves a writ petition filed by Devanatha Y. K. S. against the Income Tax Officer and other respondents, challenging various notices and orders issued under the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 2016-17. The petitioner sought to quash show cause notices, reassessment orders, and demand notices, citing procedural violations. The court referenced a similar case, Ramachandra Reddy Ravi Kumar, where a Co-ordinate Bench had set a precedent that influenced the decision in this case. The court found merit in the petitioner's arguments, leading to the quashing of all contested notices and orders.

• Counselvise Citation: [] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 815683 (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 I SANMATHI
• Assessee Lawyers: ABHIJITH BAPU
• Keywords: Income Tax; Penalty order; Reassessment order; Show cause notice; Writ of Certiorari
• Section: 147; 148; 271(1)(c); 271(1)(b); 144B; 148A(b); 148A(d); 151A; 156; 226; 227

Judgement Text

" - 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 05TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 36576 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: 1. DEVANATHA. Y. K. S/O KRISHNAPPA Y V AGED ABOUT 47 YEARS NO.15, 5TH CROSS, 5TH MAIN, 7TH BLOCK, 4TH PHASE, BANASHANKARI 3RD STAGE, 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), KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE - 560 034. 2. PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX 2, BENGALURU, BMTC BUILDING, BMTC BHAVAN, 80 FEET ROAD, (NEAR SONY WORLD SIGNAL), KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE - 560 034. Printed from counselvise.com Digitally signed by SREEDHARAN BANGALORE SUSHMA LAKSHMI Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 3. NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE (NFAC), A CENTRE DESCRIBED UNDER SECTION 144B OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, ROOM NO. 401, 2ND FLOOR, E-RAMP, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM, DELHI - 110 003. 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. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. E I SANMATHI, ADVOCATE) THIS W.P. IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO 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 21.05.2022 BEARING DIN: ITBA/COM/F/17/2022-23/1043103967(1) ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT NO. 1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-A AND ETC., THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: Printed from counselvise.com - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR 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 21.05.2022 bearing DIN: ITBA/COM/F/17/2022- 23/1043103967(1) issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 and enclosed as Annexure A ii. 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 28.07.2022 bearing DIN: ITBA/COM/F/17/2022-23/1044200654(1), issued by Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2016-17, which is produced as Annexure B; and iii. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded notice issued under Section 148 of the Act dated 28.07.2022 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/5/91/2022- 23/1044269986(1) issued by Respondent No. 1 in violation of Section 151A of the Act, which is produced as Annexure C; and Printed from counselvise.com - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 iv. 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 26.05.2024 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/147/2023-24/1053211521 (1), issued by Respondent No. 3 for the Assessment Year 2016-17, which is produced as Annexure D1; and V. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded computation sheet for AY 2016-17 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/114/2023-24/1053211590(1) dated 26.05.2024, which is produced as Annexures D2; and vi. 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 2016-17 bearing DIN: ITBA/AST/S/156/2023-24/1053211610(1) dated 26.05.2023, which is produced as Annexures D3; and vii. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded penalty order under Section 271(1)(b) dated 29.01.2024 bearing DIN: ITBA/PNL/F/271(1)(b)/2023- 24/1060225175(1) enclosed as Annexure E1; and viii. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the digitally signed and electronically uploaded penalty Order under Section 271(1)(c) dated Printed from counselvise.com - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 18.03.2024 bearing DIN: ITBA/PNL/F/271(1)(c)/2023- 24/1062826289(1) produced as Annexures F1; and ix. 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 - 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 Printed from counselvise.com - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 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. (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). Printed from counselvise.com - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51197 WP No. 36576 of 2025 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, B, C, D1, D2, D3, E1, F1 dated 21.05.2022, 28.07.2022, 28.07.2022, 26.05.2023, 26.05.2023, 26.05.2023, 29.01.2024 and 18.03.2024 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.: 32 Printed from counselvise.com "