TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1984 (11) TMI 21
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....to the order of transfer of the income-tax cases of the petitioner from Ujjain to Gwalior. According to the petitioner, he is residing in his own house in Ujjain since 1949, and his source of income is agriculture from the lands situated in villages Panbihar and Bhitri, in Ujjain district. This is a joint family property consisting of himself, his wife and his son and is being managed and looked after by him as manager and karta of the joint Hindu family. Further, according to the petitioner, he is being assessed to income-tax and wealth-tax in the status of a karta of the joint Hindu family consisting of himself, his wife and son by the Income-tax Officer, 'C' Ward, Ujjain. The assessment of the Hindu undivided family under the Income-t....
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....out whether the hearing was adjourned to any other date. However, on September 21, 1982, the petitioner received a number of notices dated September 17, 1982, from the Income-tax Officer (S.I.C.), Gwalior, respondent No. 3, calling upon the petitioner to remain present before him at Gwalior on October 14, 1982, for his income-tax assessment for the years 1970-71, 1971-72, 1976-77, 1977-78 and 1978-79. It is on this basis that the petitioner came to know that his cases have been transferred to Gwalior though he did not receive any intimation to that effect regarding transfer of his cases from Ujjain to Gwalior, from respondent No. 1. According to the petitioner, therefore, as no order of transfer of his cases was communicated to him, h....
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....r going to Gwalior which would cause him further inconvenience; and that respondent No. 1 has not at all taken all these relevant facts into consideration before passing the impugned order of transfer. The respondents in their returns have submitted that in response to the letter sent by the petitioner, intimation of the order of transfer under section 127 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was communicated to the petitioner along with the copy of the order of transfer of the cases. Besides, it is for the first time stated in the returns that as the petitioner is directly related to the Angre Group of Gwalior and, therefore, all the cases of the petitioner and his Angre Group had to be centralised with one Income-tax Officer for the purpose of....
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.... were recorded or communicated to him as such. After hearing the learned counsel and after going through the record as also the case law cited, we are of the opinion that this petition deserves to be allowed as the points raised on behalf of the petitioner have been fully concluded by the decisions referred to above. In the decision in Pannalal Binjraj v. Union of India [1957] 31 ITR 565 (SC), which arose under the provisions of the old Income-tax Act of 1922, relating to the question of transfer of cases, it has been observed in p. 589 as under : " We may, however, before we leave this topic, observe that it would be prudent if the principles of natural justice are followed, where circumstances permit, before any order of transfer un....
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....er without it, except of course where the very object of the transfer would be frustrated if notice was given to the party affected. If the reasons for making the order are reduced however briefly to writing, it will also help the assessee in appreciating the circumstances which make it necessary or desirable for the Commissioner of Income-tax or the Central Board of Revenue, as the case may be, to transfer his case under section 5(7A) of the Act and it will also help the court in determining the bona fides of the order as passed if and when the same is challenged in court as mala fide or discriminatory. It is to be hoped that the Income-tax authorities will observe the above procedure wherever feasible. " It is thereafter that the new I....
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....eing heard in the matter wherever it is possible to do so, and, secondly the recording of reasons for transferring the case. In the absence of these two requirements, it is not possible to support an order of transfer ....... The question whether the opportunity given is reasonable or not will be a matter for interpretation by the court and not by the authority itself. Similarly, the other aspect relating to the recording of reasons would clearly indicate that it has to be an order in the sense of a quasijudicial nature and it cannot be an arbitrary order where no reasons need be disclosed. If there be no compliance with the two requirements mentioned by the section, the order will be justifiable. Facility of investigation would not b....