Mr. Pradeep Kumar Shekar and Mr. Shankar Suresh V. Union of India and Prl. Commissioner of Income Tax Bangalore - 3 and Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax Circle 3(1)(1), Bengaluru and Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax DC/ACIT, Circle-5(1)(1), BLR and National Faceless Assessment Centre

WP/36426/2025

AI Insights

The case involves Mr. Pradeep Kumar Shekar and Mr. Shankar Suresh, former directors of M/s PLG Power and Infra Pvt. Ltd., who filed a writ petition against the Union of India and various income tax authorities challenging multiple notices and orders issued under the Income Tax Act, 1961. These notices and orders were related to the assessment year 2020-21. The petitioners argued that the notices were issued without proper jurisdiction and cited a similar case where such notices were quashed. The respondents contested the merits of the petition. The court, referencing a previous decision, found in favor of the petitioners, quashing all the challenged notices and orders.

• Counselvise Citation: [2025] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 821544 (HC-KARNATAKA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 03-12-2025
• 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: BHARATH V
• Keywords: Assessment year 2020-21; Faceless assessment; Income Tax; Quashing of notice; Writ petition
• Section: 147; 148; 144; 148A(b); 148A(d); 226; 227

Judgement Text

" - 1 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 3RD DAY OF DECEMBER, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.R.KRISHNA KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO. 36426 OF 2025 (T-IT) BETWEEN: 1. MR. PRADEEP KUMAR SHEKAR S/O LATE MR. SHEKAR AGED ABOUT 52 YEARS R/O C501, SALARPURIA SERENITI 5TH MAIN, HSR LAYOUT SECTOR - 7, BENGALURU - 560 102. (FORMER DIRECTOR M/S PLG POWER AND INFRA PVT. LTD. STRUCK-OFF FROM THE REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES W.E.F., 08.11.2019) 2. MR. SHANKAR SURESH, S/O SRI. H. SHANKAR SHASTRI AGED ABOUT 51 YEARS R/O NO. 33, 22ND MAIN PADMANABHA NAGAR, BSK II STAGE BENGALURU - 560 070. (FORMER DIRECTOR M/S PLG POWER AND INFRA PVT. LTD. STRUCK-OFF FROM THE REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES W.E.F., 08.11.2019) …PETITIONERS (BY SRI. BHARATH KUMAR .V, ADVOCATE) Printed from counselvise.com Digitally signed by CHAITHRA A Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA - 2 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 AND: 1. UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY ITS PRL. SECRETARY MINISTRY OF FINANCE 3RD FLOOR, JEEVAN DEEP BUILDING SANSAD MARG, NEW DELHI - 110 001. 2. PRL. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX BANGALORE - 3 HAVING OFFICE AT BMTC BUILDING 80 FEET ROAD, NEAR KHB GAMES VILLAGE KORAMANGALA, BENGALURU - 560 095. 3. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX CIRCLE 3(1)(1), BENGALURU HAVING OFFICE AT BMTC BUILDING 80 FEET ROAD, NEAR KHB GAMES VILLAGE KORAMANGALA, BENGALURU - 560 095. 4. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX DC/ACIT, CIRCLE-5(1)(1), BLR HAVING OFFICE AT BMTC BUILDING 80 FEET ROAD, NEAR KHB GAMES VILLAGE KORAMANGALA, BENGALURU - 560 095. 5. NATIONAL FACELESS ASSESSMENT CENTRE ADDITIONAL / JOINT / DEPUTY / ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX / INCOME TAX OFFICER, MINISTRY OF FINANCE 3RD FLOOR, JEEVAN DEEP BUILDING SANSAD MARG, NEW DELHI - 110 001. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI. M. THIRUMALESH, ADVOCATE) THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA, PRAYING TO QUASH THE NOTICE DATED 31.01.2024 BEARING DIN AND NOTICE NO. ITBA/AST/F/148A(SCN)/2023-24/1060329377(1) ISSUED BY THE RESPONDENT NO. 3 UNDER SECTION 148A(B) OF THE Printed from counselvise.com - 3 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 INCOME TAX ACT, 1961 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2020-21 IN RESPECT OF M/S PLG POWER AND INFRA PVT. LTD. (ANNEXURE -A) 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 ORAL ORDER In this petition, the petitioners seek the following reliefs: \"a. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the notice dated 31.01.2024 bearing DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/F/148A (SCN)/2023-24/1060329377(1) issued by the Respondent No.3 under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2020-21 in respect of M/s PLG Power and Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Annexure-A); b. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the notice dated 31.01.2024 bearing DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/F/148A (SCN)/2023-24/1060331943(1) issued by the Respondent No.3 under Section 148A(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2020-21 in respect of M/s PLG Power and Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Annexure-A1); c. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the order dated 15.03.2024 bearing DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/F/148A/ 2023-24/1062706187(1) passed by the Respondent No.3 under Section 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the Printed from counselvise.com - 4 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 assessment year 2020-21 in respect of M/s PLG Power and Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Annexure-B); d. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the notice dated 16.03.2024 bearing DIN & Notice No.ITBA/AST/S/ 148_1/2023-24/1062732834(1) passed by the Respondent No.3 under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2020-21 in respect of M/s PLG Power and Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Annexure-C); e. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari or any other appropriate writ quashing the order dated 24.03.2025 bearing DIN and Order No.ITBA/AST/S/147/2024-25/1074961992(1) passed by the Respondent No.4 under Section 147 R/w Section 144 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2020-21 in respect of M/s PLG Power and Infra Pvt. Ltd. (Annexure-D); l. Grant such other reliefs as this Hon'ble Court may deed fit in the facts of the present matter.\" 2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners 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 petitioners invited my attention to Printed from counselvise.com - 5 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 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 petitioners 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. Printed from counselvise.com - 6 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 (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). 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. Printed from counselvise.com - 7 - HC-KAR NC: 2025:KHC:50440 WP No. 36426 of 2025 (ii) The impugned show cause notices and consequential orders, notices etc., at Annexures-A, A1, B, C and D dated 31.01.2024, 31.01.2024, 15.03.2024, 16.03.2024 and 24.03.2025 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.: 15 Printed from counselvise.com "