Moorthedarara Seva Sahakari Sangha Hirgana V. Income Tax Officer Ward 1 and TPS, Udupi and Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Karnataka and Goa Region and National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) and Assessment Unit

WP/37361/2025

AI Insights

The case involves Moorthedarara Seva Sahakari Sangha Hirgana, a cooperative society, challenging multiple notices and orders issued by the Income Tax Department for the Assessment Year 2016-17. The petitioner sought to quash these notices and orders, which were issued electronically and pertained to various sections of the Income Tax Act, including sections related to income assessment and demand notices. The High Court's decision to quash these notices was influenced by a similar case previously decided by a co-ordinate bench, which found the actions taken by the tax authorities to be outside the permissible scope under the law.

• Counselvise Citation: [] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 822315 (HC-KARNATAKA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 11-12-2025
• 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 THIRUMALESH
• Assessee Lawyers: SACHIN NAYAK
• Keywords: Assessment Year 2016-17; Digitally signed notice; Income Tax; Writ of Certiorari; Electronically Communicated Order
• Section: 147; 148; 144; 271(1)(c); 271(1)(b); 151; 144B; 148A(b); 148A(d); 156

Judgement Text

" - 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 11TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 37361 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: 1. MOORTHEDARARA SEVA SAHAKARI SANGHA HIRGANA (WRONGLY SHOWN AS MOORTHEDARARA SEVA SAHAKARI SANGAL IN THE IMPUGNED ORDER AND NOTICES) A CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY REGISTERED UNDER THE KARNATAKA STATE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY ACT, 1959 HIRGANA MOORUR, KARKALA UDUPI-576 227. REP. BY ITS CEO, SRI. SANTHOSH S/O SRI SUNDARA POOJARY AGED ABOUT 37 YEARS …PETITIONER (BY SRI. SACHIN S. NAYAK, ADVOCATE FOR SRI. PRANAAV G. AMBEKAR, ADVOCATE) AND: 1. INCOME TAX OFFICER WARD 1 AND TPS, UDUPI AAYAKAR BHAVAN, UDUPI MALPE ROAD, AADIUDUPI AMBALAPADI (PO) UDUPI-576 103. EMAIL: [e-mail] 2. PRINCIPAL CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, KARNATAKA AND GOA REGION Printed from counselvise.com Digitally signed by CHAITHRA A Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 BENGALURU THE SPECIFIED AUTHORITY UNDER SECTION 151 OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 CENTRAL REVENUE BUILDING QUEENS ROAD, BENGALURU-560 001. EMAIL: [e-mail] 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 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) …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. M. THIRUMALESH, ADVOCATE) THIS W.P. IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO QUASH OF THE DIGITALLY SIGNED AND ELECTRONICALLY COMMUNICATED NOTICE U/S 148A(B) OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 DATED 07/02/2023 ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT NO. 1 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2016-17 WHICH BEARS THE DIN AND NOTICE NO. ITBA/AST/F/148A(SCN)/2022-23/1049481887(1) AND ENCLOSED AS ANNEXURE-C1 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:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR 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 digitally signed and electronically communicated notice u/s 1484(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 07/02/2023 issued by the Respondent No.1 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/F/148A(SCN)/2022-23/1049481887 (1) and enclosed as Annexure C1. b. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated order u/s 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 21/03/2023 issued by the Respondent No.1 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/F/148A/2022-23/1051065218(1) and enclosed as Annexure D. c. 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 23/03/2023 issued by the Respondent No.1 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/S/148_1/2022-23/1051170392(1) and enclosed as Annexure E. d. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically Printed from counselvise.com - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 communicated assessment order under section 147 r.w.s 144 r.w.s. 1448 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 19/03/2024 passed by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN viz., ITBA/AST/S/147/2023-24/1062952489(1) and enclosed as Annexure M1. e. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated notice of demand under section 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 dated 19/03/2024 issued by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/S/156/2023- 24/1062952685(1) and enclosed as Annexure M2. f. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated computation sheet dated 19/03/2024 issued by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Document No. ITBS/AST/S/115/ 2023-24/1062952600(1) and enclosed as Annexure M3. 9. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated order under section 271(1)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 dated 13/09/2024 issued by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN No.ITBA/PNL/F/271(1)(b)/2024-25/ 1068689112(1) and enclosed as Annexure N1. Printed from counselvise.com - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 h. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated notice of demand under section 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 13/09/2024 issued by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Notice No.ITBA/PNL/S/156/2024- 25/1068682260(1) and enclosed as Annexure N2. i. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated order under section 271(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 dated 17/09/2024 Issued by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN No.ITBA/PNL/F/271(1)(c)/2024-25/ 1068813546(1) and enclosed as Annexure N3. j. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated notice of demand under section 156 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, dated 17/09/2024 issued by the Respondent No.4 for the Assessment Year 2016-17 which bears the DIN & Notice No.ITBA/PNL/S/156/2024-25/ 1068809110(1) and enclosed as Annexure N4. k. Issue a writ of certiorari or any other suitable writ for quashing of the digitally signed and electronically communicated notice requesting to pay the demand dated 21/10/2025 issued by the Respondent No.1 which bears the DIN & Letter No.ITBA/RCV/F/17/2025-26/ 1081886524(1) enclosed as Annexure-P qua Assessment Year 2016-17; and Printed from counselvise.com - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 l. 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. 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 Printed from counselvise.com - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 of 2025 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 - 8 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:52522 WP No. 37361 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-C1, D, E, M1, M2, M3, N1, N2, N3, N4 and P dated 07.02.2023, 21.03.2023, 23.03.2023, 19.03.2024, 19.03.2024, 19.03.2024, 13.09.2024, 13.09.2024, 17.09.2024, 17.09.2024 and 21.10.2025 respectively are hereby quashed. (iii) Liberty is reserved in favour of the respondents - Revenue to seek revival of this petition, subsequent to disposal of the matters pending before the 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 NBM List No.: 2 Sl No.: 18 Printed from counselvise.com "