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2020 (3) TMI 472 - HC - Income TaxNature of land sold - Capital asset u/s 2(14) or agricultural land - jurisdiction of a municipality or a cantonment board - HELD THAT:- For land to be excluded from capital asset, it has to be agricultural land in India; such land to be not agricultural must fulfill two conditions viz. it must be land situated in any area which is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality or cantonment board and which has a population of not less than 10,000. These two conditions are pre-conditions and must be read conjunctively. If both the conditions are present then it would not be agricultural land and would be treated as capital asset. However, inversely speaking, if either of the two conditions are absent then the land would be agricultural land and excluded from capital asset. Though we have held the land in question to be within the jurisdiction of a municipality we find the second condition to bring the land outside the ambit of agricultural land i.e. that the area has a population which is not less than 10,000 absent. In this connection, Tribunal had considered the census report as well as the population certificate of the village dated 02.06.2008 and other relevant documents and thereafter returned a finding of fact that at the time of sale, the land in question was situated at village Juchandra, the population of which was 5,912 which is less than the statutory requirement of 10,000. Thus, this condition being absent the sold land was rightly treated as agricultural land, not included within the ambit and meaning of capital asset. This is a finding of fact which has not been questioned by the revenue as perverse being contrary to the record as would be evident from the two questions which have been raised. On this finding of fact, we are of the opinion that Tribunal was justified in holding that the lands which were sold were agricultural lands, not forming part of capital asset within the meaning of Section 2(14) of the Act. - Decided in favour of assessee.
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