M R Jewels V. The Assistant / Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Central Circle 1(2), Bengaluru and Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Central), Bengaluru and National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) and Assessment Unit and Union of India

WP/36124/2025

AI Insights

The case involves M/S M R Jewels, a partnership firm, challenging various electronically communicated approvals, notices, and orders issued by the Income Tax authorities for the Assessment Year 2020-21. The petitioner sought to quash these communications under sections 151, 148, 147, 156, and 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, citing procedural and substantive irregularities. The respondents, including the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax and the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, defended the validity of these communications. The court's decision to quash the notices and orders was heavily influenced by a prior judgment in a similar case, emphasizing the need for adherence to procedural norms in tax assessments.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 815688 (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: M DILIP
• Assessee Lawyers: ABHIJITH BAPU
• Keywords: Assessment year 2020-21; Electronic communication; Income Tax; Writ of Certiorari; Approval Quashing
• Section: 147; 148; 270A; 151; 144B; 156

Judgement Text

" - 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 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. 36124 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: 1. M/S M R JEWELS A PARTNERSHIP FIRM REGISTERED UNDER THE INDIAN PARTNERSHIP ACT, 1932, NO. 61/24, 1ST FLOOR, 8TH ‘F’ MAIN ROAD, 3RD BLOCK, JAYANAGAR, BENGALURU – 560 011. REP. BY ITS PARTNER SMT. RISHAM JAIN, W/O MANISH LODHA, AGED ABOUT 38 YEARS …PETITIONER (BY SRI. ABHIJITH S BAPU, ADVOCATE FOR SRI. SHREEHARI KUTSA, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. THE ASSISTANT / DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL CIRCLE 1(2), BENGALURU, CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, QUEENS ROAD, BENGALURU – 560 001. EMAIL: [e-mail] 2. PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (CENTRAL), BENGALURU THE SPECIFIED AUTHORITY UNDER SECTION 151 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING, NAVANAGAR, HUBLI – 580 025. 3. NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE (NFAC), A CENTRE DESCRIBED UNDER SECTION 144B Printed from counselvise.com Digitally signed by SREEDHARAN BANGALORE SUSHMA LAKSHMI Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 ROOM NO. 401, 2ND FLOOR, E-RAMP, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU STADIUM, DELHI - 110 003. REP. BY PR. CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (NeAC) 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. REP. BY PR. CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (NeAC) 5. UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY THE DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ROOM NO. 46, NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI - 110 001. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. M DILIP, ADVOCATE) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 & 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASHING OF THE ELECTRONICALLY COMMUNICATED APPROVAL U/S 151 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, DATED 11/03/2024 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT NO. 2 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2020-21 WHICH BEARS THE DIN NO. ITBA/AST/S/118/2023-24/1062391551(1) AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE –D 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:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 ORAL ORDER In this petition, the petitioner seeks the following reliefs: \"a. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the electronically communicated Approval u/s 151 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 11/03/2024 issued by the Respondent No. 2 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN No. ITBA/AST/S/118/2023-24/1062391551(1) and enclosed as Annexure D. b. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated notice u/s 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 15/03/2024 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN & Notice No. ITBA/AST/S/148_1/2023- 24/1062717013(1) and enclosed as Annexure E. c. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of electronically communicated Assessment Order u/s 147 r.w.s. 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 27/03/2025 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN & Order No. ITBA/AST/M/147/2024-25/1075125080(1) enclosed as Annexure H1. and d. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of electronically communicated Notice of demand u/s 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 27/03/2025 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Printed from counselvise.com - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN & Notice No. ITBA/AST/M/147/2024-25/1075125866(1) and enclosed as Annexure H2. e. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digital signed and electronically communicated notice under section 274 read with section 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 27/03/2025 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN & Notice No. ITBA/PNL/S/270A/2024-25/1075143436(1) and enclosed as Annexure J. f. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated Order u/s 270A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 26/09/2025 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN No. ITBA/PNL/F/270A/2025-26/1081280406(1) and enclosed as Annexure L1. g. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated Notice of demand u/s 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 26/09/2025 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Year 2020-21 which bears the DIN No. ITBA/PNL/S/156/2025- 26/1081280344(1) and enclosed as Annexure L2. h. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated Computation Sheet, dated 26/09/2025 issued by the Respondent No. 1 for the Assessment Printed from counselvise.com - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 Year 2020-21 bears which DIN the No. 2025202040423436896T and enclosed as Annexure L3. i. Declare that the Explanation (2) to Section 148 is ultra vires the main provision of section 148 of the Act which is enclosed as Annexure N. j. Grant such other reliefs as this Hon'ble Court deems fit in this matter including but not limited to COST OF THIS PETITION.\" 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. Printed from counselvise.com - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 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. (iii) With the aforesaid liberty and to the aforesaid extent, the petitions are allowed. Printed from counselvise.com - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 (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-D, E, H1, H2, J, L1, L2, L3, N dated 11.03.2024, 15.03.2024, 27.03.2025, 27.03.2025, 27.03.2025, 26.09.2025, 26.09.2025 and 26.09.2025 respectively, are hereby quashed. (iii) Liberty is reserved in favour of the respondents to seek revival of this petition, subsequent to disposal of the Printed from counselvise.com - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:51183 WP No. 36124 of 2025 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.: 14 Printed from counselvise.com "