https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=169594 Under section 66 reference jurisdiction, the High Court's duty to answer referred questions arose only when the case was effectively heard. Although section 66(5) was framed in mandatory terms, that obligation was not absolute in every situation. If the assessee at whose instance the reference had been made did not appear, there was in substance no party before the Court seeking a decision on the reference, so the preliminary condition for exercising the duty to answer was not satisfied. The Court could therefore decline to answer the reference. en-us Fri, 06 Aug 1954 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 27 Apr 2015 14:50:39 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=169594 Under section 66 reference jurisdiction, the High Court's duty to answer referred questions arose only when the case was effectively heard. Although section 66(5) was framed in mandatory terms, that obligation was not absolute in every situation. If the assessee at whose instance the reference had been made did not appear, there was in substance no party before the Court seeking a decision on the reference, so the preliminary condition for exercising the duty to answer was not satisfied. The Court could therefore decline to answer the reference. Case-Laws Income Tax Fri, 06 Aug 1954 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=169594