Natural justice and valid service of notice led to quashing of an Income-tax Act order under Section 179.

An order under Section 179 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was quashed because notice was not properly served and the assessee was denied a fair opportunity of hearing. The court accepted the petitioner's affidavit showing that the notices had been sent to an address where he was no longer residing when proceedings began, rendering service ineffective. As the impugned order was passed in breach of natural justice, it was set aside, with liberty to issue fresh notice and proceed in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the order passed under Section 179 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was liable to be quashed for want of proper service of notice and breach of natural justice.

Analysis: The petitioner relied on an affidavit indicating that notices were sent to an address where he was no longer residing when the proceedings were initiated. On that basis, the service of notice was found to be ineffective, and the impugned order was treated as having been passed without giving the petitioner a proper opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The order under Section 179 was quashed and set aside for violation of principles of natural justice, with liberty to the respondents to issue fresh notice and proceed in accordance with law.

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