Article 136 jurisdiction limited to exceptional cases; cannot ordinarily bypass High Court refusal to call a statement of the case.

Whether Article 136 permits direct appeals from a tax Tribunal where the High Court has refused a request under the taxing statute to call for a statement of the case: the court reaffirmed that Article 136 will not ordinarily be used to bypass the High Court or to reappraise evidence; statutory scheme entrusts factual appraisal to tax authorities and their findings are final subject to statutory remedies. Exceptions permitting special leave are confined to (a) violations of fundamental rules of justice and (b) exceptional circumstances depriving a party of a meaningful opportunity before the High Court. Absent those, appeals seeking to bypass the High Court are dismissed.

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Issues: (i) Whether this Court may, in exercise of its powers under Article 136, entertain and decide appeals against the order of a tax Tribunal where the High Court has refused an application under section 66(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to call for a statement of the case.

Analysis: The Court examined the established practice that where an aggrieved party applies to the High Court under a taxing statute to call for a statement of the case and the High Court rejects that application, this Court will not ordinarily permit bypassing the High Court by entertaining a direct appeal against the Tribunal under Article 136. The legislative scheme entrusts appraisal of evidence and factual findings primarily to taxing authorities, making such findings final subject to statutory remedies. The Court noted two narrow exceptions where special leave may be granted: (a) where the Tribunal has violated fundamental rules of justice, and (b) where exceptional circumstances beyond the control of the aggrieved party deprived them of a meaningful opportunity before the High Court. The present appeals did not disclose any such exceptional circumstances or breaches of fundamental justice and involved no ground warranting reappraisal of evidence by this Court.

Conclusion: The appeals against the order of the Tribunal are dismissed for want of exceptional circumstances permitting this Court to bypass the High Court's refusal to call for a statement of the case; no case was made out for calling for a statement of the case from the Tribunal.

Ratio Decidendi: In tax appeals this Court will not ordinarily exercise its Article 136 jurisdiction to reappraise evidence or bypass the High Court's refusal to call for a statement of the case; only in exceptional circumstances such as breach of fundamental justice or loss of opportunity before the High Court will such interference be justified.

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