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2021 (6) TMI 6 - HC - Benami PropertyBenami transaction - orders barred by limitation - SCN alleging that the petitioner is a benamidhar for Marg, its parent company, which beneficially owns the property - whether the impugned orders dated 26.08.2019, 27.08.2019 and 28.08.2019 are barred by limitation - HELD THAT:- In this case, the records are lacking to prove that after the matters were reserved for orders on 17.07.19, the orders were, in fact, passed prior to 31.08.19. The matters were not listed for pronouncement. The despatch of the orders to the petitioners was only on 04 and 11.09.19 and there is no record to establish transfer of files to the registry/office of the authority in the interim before 31.08.2019. The provision imposes a ban upon the passing of an order beyond the period stipulated, a prohibition. It is a burden cast upon the respondent and one that the respondent must comply with, and prove that it has satisfied, within the statutory timeframe provided. In this case, it is of the view that this burden has not been discharged. In fact, the attempt to establish compliance is also lukewarm. R1 the Adjudicating Authority, has chosen not to file a counter and the only counter filed is by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Chennai, on his and on behalf of R1. Being a matter involving the internal records of R1, particularly one that has serious repercussions and ramifications on the veracity of the orders passed, it would have been appropriate for R1 to explain the exact position. The object and purpose of the enactment as well as the rigour it imposes, and the serious civil consequences that it carries require that the procedure and times lines set out there, are followed scrupulously. There must be no shadow cast upon the processes followed in decision making and rendition, that must be unimpeachable and cast-iron. In the paragraphs leading to this conclusion, I have set out the narrative in regard to the decision making process as well as the gaps, lapses as well as mismatch in the dates of the intervening events, prior to dispatch of the orders. We are of the view that the prohibition imposed by the provisions of Section 26(7) will apply squarely in this case and the impugned orders cannot be said to have been passed within the period of limitation, as provided. Writ Petitions are allowed and the impugned orders quashed.
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