1995 (3) TMI 75

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.... by this court in Civil Rule No. 7(M) of 1977, the Appellate Tribunal referred this question under section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 : " Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the order of assessment passed without impleading all the legal representatives was valid in law ? " In short the facts can be stated thus. A. Wahid of Dibrugarh was an assessee to income-....

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..... 1,14,530 for 1969-70. An appeal preferred by the assessee before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner was dismissed. Mr. S. N. Medhi, learned counsel for the petitioner, argued that the assessment order was not valid in law inasmuch as it was done without serving a notice under section 143(2) of the Act on all the legal heirs of A. Wahid, the deceased assessee. In support of his contention....

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....substantially represented the estate and the others were not interested in the matter. He submits that the point raised by Mr. Medhi is a mere technicality and cannot be sustained because it would impede the process of assessment, He submits that the present is a case where this court ought to give an answer in favour of the Revenue. He relied on a decision of the Madras High Court in E. Alfred v.....

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....cer the fact of the existence of other legal representatives, and of the suit pending in the court for administration and partition, the Income-tax Officer could not be said to have acted in good faith in serving the notice on A alone and completing the assessment proceedings against him ; good faith necessitated due enquiry and it was the duty of the Income-tax Officer to make enquiries to verify....