Revisional jurisdiction fails where the assessment is framed in the name of a deceased assessee and is void in law.

Revisional jurisdiction under section 263 cannot be validly exercised where the foundational assessment is non est because it was framed in the name of a deceased assessee. The ITAT Delhi held that once the underlying assessment was found to be void in law for this jurisdictional defect, the revisional order could not stand and the merits of any alleged error or prejudice did not require further examination. The revision was therefore treated as beyond the sanction of law, and the assessee's challenge succeeded because the revision rested on an unsustainable assessment order.

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Issues: Whether a revisional order under section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 could stand when the underlying assessment was framed in the name of a deceased person and was therefore alleged to be void and non-existent.

Analysis: The assessment was passed after the assessee's death and was drawn in the name of the deceased. In view of the jurisdictional defect in the foundational assessment, the revisional power could not be exercised over an order that was not sustainable in law. The merits of the alleged error or prejudice were not examined further once the foundational assessment was found to be invalid.

Conclusion: The revisional action was held to be beyond the sanction of law and the challenge to the revision succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The assessee's appeal was allowed because the revision rested on an assessment order treated as unsustainable in law.

Ratio Decidendi: Revisional jurisdiction under section 263 cannot validly be exercised where the underlying assessment order is non est or void in law for having been framed in the name of a deceased person.

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