TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2020 (10) TMI 569
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....tioners : Mrs. Archana Sinha, Advocate For the Respondents : Mr. Ajay Kumar Rastogi, Advocate Mr. S.D. Sanjay, Sr. Advocate JUDGMENT ( Per : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) Petitioners have prayed for the following relief(s): - "That by this writ petition the petitioners seek issuance of an appropriate writ/writs, direction/directions and order/orders on the respondents in the facts and circumstance of the case after quashing the order dated 28.03.2008 passed by the Income Tax Settlement Commission (IT & WT), Kolkata, as contained herein in Annexure-3, in settlement applications as contained in Annexure-1 herein, under the section 245D(4) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, (after an order passed by this Hon'ble Court on the....
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....ction, etc. It also has the power under Section 245H, to grant immunity from prosecution from the imposition of penalty. 4. The object sought to be achieved with the legislation was to ensure finality and certainty, both in the order and decision- making process. 5. Noticeably, the members of the Settlement Commission are the senior-most officers of the department, having sufficient experience, people with immense integrity and outstanding ability, apart from special knowledge and expertise in the subject of direct taxes and business accounts. 6. We are dealing with a case where the Revenue is trying to reopen one such settlement which took place under an application submitted by the assessees, so decided to vide the impugned order....
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....ereinafter accepted the settlement, to us the only way of reading the impugned sentence is that the matter was straightforward on the face of the record. It is also not disputed before us that the Settlement Commission necessarily was required to pass orders before 31.3.2008, else the proceedings would have abated. Revenue has not pointed any finger of misconduct against any one of the members of the Settlement Commission. 11. Even before us, the integrity and ability of the members of the Settlement Commission are not in doubt. In this background, can an isolated sentence, purportedly crept into the order, be allowed to defeat the object and purpose sought to be achieved with the enactment in question? 12. We clarify that the impugne....
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....urt in Ajmera Housing Corporation and another Versus Commissioner of Income Tax (2010) 8 SCC 739, Union of India v. Star Television News Ltd. [2015] 373 ITR 528 (SC) and High Court of Rajasthan in Commissioner of Income Tax Central Jaipur vs. M/s Anil Hastkala (p) Ltd. & Anr (2010) 329 ITR 41; Commissioner of Income -Tax Versus Hari Kishan Vijayvergia and another, (2011) 336 ITR 174. More so, when our attention is invited to the fact that now as a policy matter, Revenue is not to prolong litigations but bring finality, particularly when the amount of Revenue involved is not more than two crores. 15. We also must keep in mind the words of the Hon'ble Apex Court in Ritesh Tiwari and Anr v. State of Utter Pradesh and Ors (2010) 10 SCC 6....