Disputed property title and alleged void transfers prevented writ interference with an income-tax attachment notice.

Where title to attached property is seriously disputed and the Revenue alleges that transfers are void under section 281 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the High Court will not decide the title controversy in summary writ proceedings under Article 226. The Court noted that the petitioner relied on family settlement documents, but the ownership chain and transfer validity remained contested, with prior and pending recovery proceedings also on record. In that setting, the attachment notice under section 226(3) was not interfered with, and the claimant was directed to seek appropriate civil remedies to establish any property rights.

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Issues: Whether the impugned attachment notice issued under section 226(3) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could be interfered with in writ proceedings when the petitioner claimed title to the attached property and the Revenue asserted that the transfers were void under section 281 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The property claim rested on a series of family settlement documents, but the ownership chain and the alleged transfers remained seriously disputed. The Court noted that the petitioner could not establish, in summary writ proceedings, a clear and undisputed title to the property, and that the material also indicated pending and prior recovery proceedings, including proceedings under section 158BD of the Income-tax Act, 1961. In that situation, the Court held that the transfer-related controversy could not be unravelled in proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. The Court also held that transfers made during the pendency of proceedings attracted section 281 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and that the petitioner had to approach the civil court to establish any rights in the property.

Conclusion: The challenge to the attachment notice was not accepted, and the Revenue's action was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the rival claims to property title are hotly disputed and the alleged transfer is asserted to be void under section 281 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the writ court will not adjudicate the title dispute in summary proceedings and the claimant must seek appropriate civil remedies.

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