Writ jurisdiction cannot bypass statutory tax remedies where assessment grievances lie within the income-tax appellate scheme.

Writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is not available to bypass the appellate and reference remedies expressly provided under the income-tax scheme. Where the grievance against assessment orders falls wholly within the statutory machinery and no issue of vires or jurisdiction is raised, direct recourse to the High Court is inappropriate. The assessee must pursue the remedies under the Act, and the writ petitions were not entertainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India were maintainable against assessment orders when the assessee had bypassed the statutory appellate and reference remedies provided by the income-tax scheme.

Analysis: The Court held that the assessee could not be permitted to circumvent the remedies expressly provided by the taxing statute and approach the High Court directly against the assessment orders. The existence of appellate and reference mechanisms, coupled with the fact that the grievance lay wholly within the competence of the authorities under the Act, made the invocation of writ jurisdiction inappropriate. The Court also noted that no question of vires or jurisdiction arose.

Conclusion: The writ petitions were not entertainable and were liable to be dismissed.

---