Court grants final opportunity for petitioner to present case under Section 154, sets aside previous order

The court granted the petitioner a final opportunity to present their case concerning the application under Section 154, previously dismissed without a hearing. The court set aside the earlier order and directed the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), New Delhi to conduct a hearing and issue a new order. The petitioner agreed to withdraw certain applications and was prohibited from raising certain issues or filing additional applications. The judgment, delivered by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Hon'ble Mr. Justice V.K. Jain on May 5, 2010, provided specific directions to address the petitioner's grievances.

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Issues:
1. Transfer of case under Section 127(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
2. Disposal of application under Section 154 without opportunity of hearing.

Analysis:
1. The petitioner challenged the transfer of the case from Gurgaon to Delhi under Section 127(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The petitioner contended that only assessment proceedings, not rectification applications, could be transferred. However, during the hearing, the petitioner agreed not to press this point, thus withdrawing the grievance related to the transfer.

2. The petitioner's second grievance was regarding the disposal of the application under Section 154 without being granted an opportunity of hearing. The petitioner had filed multiple applications seeking rectification of the same order, which was not encouraged. The petitioner agreed that if given a hearing for the application dismissed on 26.04.2005, no further applications under Section 154 would be filed for the same order. The petitioner also agreed to withdraw the fourth application filed under Section 154.

3. Considering the history of the case and the need to ensure justice, the court decided to grant the petitioner a final opportunity to present his case regarding the application under Section 154, which was previously dismissed without a personal hearing. The court set aside the order dated 26.04.2005 and directed the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), New Delhi to provide the petitioner with a hearing and pass an order in accordance with the law.

4. The court explicitly stated that the fourth application filed by the petitioner would be considered withdrawn. Additionally, the petitioner was barred from raising the issue of transfer from Gurgaon to New Delhi further and from filing any more applications under Section 154 concerning the same appellate orders. The petitioner was directed to appear before the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-XXV, New Delhi on a specified date for a hearing and subsequent order issuance.

This judgment, delivered by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Hon'ble Mr. Justice V.K. Jain on May 5, 2010, disposed of the writ petitions by providing specific directions to address the grievances raised by the petitioner regarding the transfer of the case and the disposal of the application under Section 154.

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