1992 (12) TMI 84

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....e. It was noted that the Commissioner of Income-tax had not considered the application of the assessee for stay properly as it was rejected without giving any reason. Therefore, by order dated 20-11-1992 the Tribunal came to the conclusion that such a rejection was untenable and until the application was properly considered by the Commissioner, the application before the Tribunal was premature. The Tribunal pointed out that the Assessing Officer and the Tax Recovery Officer had powers to grant stay under sections 220 and 225 respectively, that they function as subordinates of the Commissioner of Income-tax as notified under section 118, that the suo motu powers of superintendence of Commissioner can be invoked by the assessee, that the exer....

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....ance of this obligation as a part of good administration raises a reasonable or legitimate expectation in every citizen to be treated fairly in his interaction with the State and its instrumentalities, with this element forming a necessary component of the decision-making process in all State actions. To satisfy this requirement of non-arbitrariness in a State action, it is, therefore, necessary to consider and give due weight to the reasonable or legitimate expectations of the persons likely to be affected by the decision or else that unfairness in the exercise of the power may amount to an abuse or excess of power apart from affecting the bona fides of the decision in a given case. The decision so made would be exposed to challenge on the....