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1998 (11) TMI 124 - SC - Income TaxMerely because no appeal is provided for under the statute against an order passed by the appropriate authority under Chapter XX-C of the Act does the supervisory power of the High Court under article 226 get enlarged in any way and can the High Court in such a case exercise an appellate power and reappreciate findings to come to its own conclusion? Whether in the case in hand the conclusion arrived at by the appropriate authority with regard to the fair market value of the property in question was by taking into consideration all relevant and germane materials and whether the Department discharged the burden that lay on it in establishing that the apparent consideration of the property as indicated in the agreement of sale was less than its fair market value by 15 per cent.? Held that:- Merely because no appeal is provided for against the order of the appropriate authority, directing compulsory acquisition by the Government, the supervisory power of the High Court does not get enlarged nor the High Court can exercise an appellate power. Coming to the second question, on examining the order passed by the appropriate authority for arriving at a conclusion as to what would be the fair market value of the property in question agreed to be sold, we find that the said appropriate authority did consider all the germane and relevant materials produced before it in the course of the proceedings and formed its opinion that there is understatement of consideration in the agreement dated September 25, 1995, by an amount more than 15 per cent. of the fair market value. On the basis of several sale transactions which are all contemporaneously made and which have the same potentiality and situated in the same locality, the appropriate authority came to the conclusion that the fair market land rate could not be less than ₹ 850 per square foot. Further, in the absence of any irrebuttable materials adduced on behalf of the transferor or the transferee as to why in the impugned transaction the property has been agreed to be sold at ₹ 650 per square foot, the natural presumption arises that it was with a view to attempt to evade tax. We think it appropriate to direct that the entire amount lying in deposit together with the interest accrued thereon should be paid to the respondents. This appeal is accordingly allowed
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