High Court directs parties to await Supreme Court decision on Income Tax Act sections. Excludes pendency period from limitation calculation.

The High Court disposed of the Writ Petitions challenging the constitutional validity of sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961, directing the parties to abide by the Supreme Court's decision on similar issues pending before it. The Court clarified that the period during which the Writ Petitions were pending would be excluded from the computation of limitation if the Supreme Court upheld the legislation. The Writ Petitions were closed without costs.

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Issues: Challenge to the constitutional validity of sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961

In this judgment, the petitioners filed Writ Petitions seeking a declaration that certain sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were ultra vires of the Constitution of India and beyond the legislative competence of Parliament. The sections in question were 115 WA(2), 115 WB(1), and 115 WB(2) introduced by the Finance Act, 2005. Both the petitioners' counsel and the Revenue's counsel acknowledged that similar issues were pending before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and had been transferred from other High Courts. Given this, the High Court decided to dispose of the Writ Petitions with directions for the parties to abide by the Supreme Court's decision. The Revenue expressed concerns about the limitation period for any actions initiated if the impugned provisions were upheld. To address this, the Court directed the petitioners to comply with the Supreme Court's decision and clarified that the period during which the Writ Petitions were pending would be excluded from the computation of limitation if the Supreme Court upheld the legislation. Ultimately, the High Court disposed of the Writ Petitions without costs, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.

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