Suresh Chand vs Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

R.K. Gulati, J.—The petitioner was permitted to amend the array of parties. Accordingly, the amendments were carried out. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri Ashok Kumar who appeared for the respondents.

The petitioner has sought directions to the Tribunal, Delhi Bench ''D'' to dispose of the appeal and the stay application said to have been filed by the petitioner. The petitioner has further prayed for a writ of mandamus commanding the TRO, income tax Unit, Meerut, directing him not to recover the demand outstanding against the petitioner amounting to Rs. 28,31,973 during the pendency of the writ petition.

The petitioner Suresh Chand is said to be an AOP engaged in country liquor business in Baghpat District Meerut. The said AOP was assessed to income tax by the Assistant Commissioner, Circle-3, Meerut for the assessment year 1991-92 by an order dated 21-3-1994. The assessment order was affirmed in appeal by the Commissioner (Appeals), Meerut. It is alleged that the petitioner thereafter preferred an appeal before the Tribunal New Delhi on 2-1-1995 and on 27-3-1995, an application for stay of the demand pending decision in the appeal was filed. According to the petitioner, the appeal itself was heard by the Tribunal on 27-4-1995 when the orders were reserved and till date, the Tribunal has not given its decision. During the meantime, the income tax Recovery Officer, Meerut, has issued a notice dated 17-4-1995 which is alleged to have been served somewhere in the month of August 1995 calling upon the petitioner to pay the disputed demand together with interest failing which coercive measures will be taken against the petitioner. The petitioner has already filed its reply to the income tax Recovery Officer, a copy of which is contained in Annexure-14 to the writ petition and is dated 28-8-1995 stating, inter alia, that the Tribunal has heard appeal on 27-4-1995 and the judgment is awaited any time. The petitioner pointed out that it had no funds to pay the demand and, accordingly, the demand may be stayed till the disposal of the appeal by the Tribunal.

It is in this background that the petitioner has approached this Court through this writ petition seeking the relief''s set out earlier.

Having regard to the relief''s sought in the writ petition and the facts and circumstances of the case the writ petition is disposed of finally with the direction that if the hearing in the appeal has already been concluded as asserted by the petitioner and the decision is still awaited, the appeal may be disposed of expeditiously at an early date. However, if for some reason it is not possible to decide the appeal, in that case, the stay application filed by the petitioner a copy of which has been filed as Annexure-6 to the writ petition, may be taken up for decision after due notice to the parties and decided in accordance with law preferably, within a period of three weeks a certified copy of this order is filed before the concerned Bench of the Tribunal. Subject to the above, the writ petition shall stand finally disposed of.