Remand witness examination discretion preserved; appellate authority may decide objections and continue proceedings in accordance with law.

The appellate authority and the Assessing Officer conducting remand proceedings retain discretion over the questions put to witnesses, while the assessee remains entitled to cross-examine and raise objections. The High Court was found not justified in directing the manner in which witness statements were recorded or in controlling the pending appellate proceedings. As cross-examination had been completed and the remand report filed, the appellate authority was required to decide the pending objections and continue the appeal in accordance with law, uninfluenced by the High Court's observations.

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Issues: Whether the High Court was justified in interfering with the manner in which witness statements were recorded in remand proceedings before the Assessing Officer and in directing the course of proceedings pending before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).

Analysis: The order held that the choice of questions to be put to witnesses in remand proceedings lay within the discretion of the appellate authority or the Assessing Officer conducting the remand, while the assessee retained the right to cross-examine and raise relevant objections. It was noted that cross-examination had already been completed, the remand report had been submitted, and the objections filed by the respondent remained pending before the appellate authority. The appellate authority was directed to deal with those objections and proceed in accordance with law without being influenced by the High Court's impugned observations and directions.

Conclusion: The High Court's interference was held unsustainable, and the appellate authority was left free to decide the pending objections and continue the appellate proceedings according to law.

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