Unexplained delay in suo motu revision can defeat jurisdiction and invalidate belated revisional proceedings under tax law.

Suo motu revisional power under section 34 of the Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1950 must be exercised within a reasonable time, and unexplained delay can render the action unsustainable. The Kerala High Court held that a belated initiation of revision nearly eight years after the end of the relevant assessment year was not supported by any material showing acceptable reasons or insurmountable difficulties beyond control. In the absence of a satisfactory explanation, the notice and consequential revisional proceedings were held barred by limitation and lacking jurisdiction, and the proceedings were quashed in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the initiation of suo motu revisional proceedings under section 34 of the Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1950, after a delay of about eight years from the end of the relevant assessment year was barred by limitation and without jurisdiction.

Analysis: The revisional power must be exercised within a reasonable time and only when the delay is supported by material showing acceptable reasons based on insurmountable difficulties beyond control. No such material was placed on record to explain the long delay in initiating the proceedings. In the absence of any satisfactory explanation, the belated notice and the resulting revisional action could not be sustained, as the delay affected the very jurisdiction to proceed.

Conclusion: The initiation of the revisional proceedings was barred by limitation and suffered from lack of jurisdiction; the notice and the consequential orders were liable to be quashed in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The revision cases failed on the issue of delayed exercise of suo motu revisional power, and the impugned proceedings were set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Suo motu revisional power must be exercised within a reasonable time, and unexplained delay in its exercise renders the action unsustainable for want of jurisdiction.

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