Assessment in the name of a deceased assessee is void, and the defect cannot be cured by section 292B.

Proceedings initiated and completed in the name of a deceased assessee are unenforceable in law. Where the department issued a notice under section 143(2) and passed the assessment order against a person who had already died, and the legal heir had been registered and had filed the return in that capacity, the defect was not a mere technical irregularity. Such action was treated as against a non-existent entity and could not be cured by section 292B of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The notice and assessment were therefore void ab initio, and the reassessment order was liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether notice issued and assessment completed in the name of a deceased assessee were valid in law, and whether the defect could be cured by section 292B.

Analysis: The assessee had died before initiation of the proceedings, yet the notice under section 143(2) and the consequential assessment order were issued in the name of the deceased and not in the name of the legal heir. The legal heir had already been registered with the department and had filed the return in that capacity. A notice or assessment in the name of a dead person is unenforceable in law and amounts to proceeding against a non-existent entity. Such a defect is not a mere irregularity and cannot be saved by section 292B of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Conclusion: The notice and assessment were invalid and void ab initio, and the reassessment order was liable to be quashed in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The cross objection succeeded, the assessment was set aside, and the revenue's appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Proceedings initiated and completed in the name of a deceased person are void and unenforceable, and the defect is not curable by the saving provision meant for technical mistakes.

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