2026 (4) TMI 1132

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....67, 1104, 1174, 1198, 1211, 1265, 1270, 1275, 1410, 1441, 1458, 1464, 1467, 1469, 1504, 1652, 1683, 1691, 1754, 1757, 1809, 1814, 1817, 1828, 1844, 1865 and 1914 of 2026 - -<br>Income Tax<br>HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE SRI APARESH KUMAR SINGH AND HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE G.M. MOHIUDDIN Mohammed Ibrahim Ali, Suresh kumar Choudari Kopalli, Mr. Prabhakar Pokala, Vivek Ashwin Vanam, Tricolour Properties Private Limited, Sai Kumar Thota Sai Kumar, Swathi Guduri, Suresh Tammineedi, Concord Drugs Limited, Mr. Balarami Reddy Muli, Sistu Krishna Rao, Venkata Subbi Reddy Penumallu, DCS Limited, Pranathi Manchukonda, Narayana Ravisetty, Mubeen Khan, Surendra Nath Chowdary Pathuri, Mardhani Shokat Bhai, Srinivasulu Vallamkonda, Gayatri Devi Davuluri, Burugula Raji Reddy, Mr. Nasar Bin Salem Babader, Santosh Kumar Siga, Mrs. Usha Rani Thaduri, Rami Reddy Gopireddy, The Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society Meenavolu, Mohammed Hidayathuddin Smt. Karuna Shetty, Nandyal Trading Private Limited, Mr. Mohammed Azeemuddin Azam, Sri Venkateswara Rao Tammineni, Sri Nagunoori Damodar, Mr. Jallapuram Narsing Sridhar, Mr. Syed Abdul Bari, Mrs. Medikonda Bhavani, M/s. Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit S....

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.... petitioners. Also heard Ms. J. Sunitha, Ms. Bokaro Sapna Reddy, Mr. N. Praveen Reddy, Mr. Vijhay K. Punna, Mr. K. Sudhakar Reddy, learned Senior Standing Counsel appearing for Income Tax Department; Mrs. B. Kavita Yadav, learned Senior Standing Counsel appearing for Central Government and Mr. N. Bhujanga Rao, learned Deputy Solicitor General of India appearing for Union of India. 2. In all these Writ Petitions, the challenge is to the initiation of proceedings under Sections 148(A) and 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act") by the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO). 3. Petitioners though have taken other pleas in most of these Writ Petitions, they submit that the issues involved in the present batch of Writ Petitions have been considered and settled in the order dated 28.04.2025 passed by the learned Coordinate Bench of this Court in W.P.No.26304 of 2024 following the decision rendered in the case of Kankanala Ravindra Reddy vs. Income Tax Officer (2023) 156 taxmann.com 178 (Telangana). It is submitted that the present Writ Petitions may be disposed of on same lines after setting aside the impugned proceedings under Sections 148(A) and 148 of the Act a....

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....Reddy Ravi Kumar vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (2025) 170 taxmann.com 422 (Bombay). 5. These matters have been clubbed together for the reason that all of them assail the proceedings initiated under Section 148(A) followed by notice under Section 148 of the Act for reopening the assessment by JAO. The dates of the impugned notices and proceedings have been referred to in the individual Writ Petitions, which are post 29.03.2022 i.e., the date on which the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 151A of the Act, has made the e-Assessment of Income Escaping Assessment Scheme, 2002 vide Notification No. 18 of 2022. 6. The respondent Department was asked to obtain instructions and file counter-affidavits, if necessary, on facts and legal issues which are raised herein. 7. The learned Senior Standing Counsel for the respondent Department had obtained instructions in all these matters. Based upon the instructions received from the Department, learned counsel for the respondents do not dispute that the initiation of impugned proceedings under Section 148(A) of the Act has been done by JAO after coming into force of the Faceless Scheme with eff....

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....he tabulation chart, it is apparent that the impugned proceedings in all these cases have been initiated by JAO after coming into force of the Faceless Scheme with effect from 29.03.2022. 13. The legal issue as regards the lack of jurisdiction on the part of JAO to initiate the proceedings post implementation of the Faceless Scheme is no longer res integra as it has been held in the case of Kankanala Ravindra Reddy (supra) and by other jurisdictional High Courts. 14. As a matter of fact, several orders following the ratio rendered in the above cases have been passed one after the other. Therefore, we are of the considered view that the present batch of Writ Petitions also stand covered by the decision rendered by this Court in the case of Kankanala Ravindra Reddy (supra). The relevant extract of the order dated 28.04.2025 passed in W.P. No. 26304 of 2024 is reproduced hereunder: "15. What is worrying this Bench more is the fact that an endeavour is being made whole heartedly to ensure not to generate further litigation on issues which have been laid to rest by a large number of High Courts all of whom have taken a consistent stand that the action of the Income Tax De....