TMI Blog1967 (3) TMI 5X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... jab, Chandigarh, in Income-tax Reference No. 23 of 1962, made to it by the Income-tax Tribunal under section 66(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922. The following question was referred to the High Court : "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the notice under section 34 of the Income-tax Act was properly served on the assessee within the prescribed period." The relevant facts, in brief, are that the respondent, Shri Daulat Ram Khanna, hereinafter referred to as " the assessee ", is a Hindu undivided family, and the dispute relates to the year of assessment 1945-46. Proceedings under section 34 of the Income-tax Act were started by the Income-tax Officer, B-Ward, Amritsar, against the assessee by issue of a not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce on the notice board of the income-tax office. The Tribunal, therefore, held that the notice was properly served and set aside the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The High Court, following its earlier decision in Jhabar Mal Chokhani v. Commissioner of Income-tax, held that the substituted service was invalid and answered the question in the negative. It also refused to allow the counsel for the revenue to raise the point that the notice under section 34 had been served in time even if the service be taken to have been effected after March 31, 1954. He had relied before the High Court on the Indian Income-tax (Amendment) Act, 1959, and the decision of this court in S. C. Prashar v. Vasantsen Dwarkadas. The learned coun ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dential house or business premises. He says that it is not obligatory on the court to adopt this method, but the court can, in view of the circumstances, order the service of the notice in any other manner as it thinks fit. Mr. Sen further says that it would be noticed that the word " also " has not been repeated in the last ten words of the sub-rule, underlined above. He says that in a particular case it is in the discretion of the court to order service of the notice by registered post or by affixing a copy thereof and then satisfying itself that the copy has been affixed in a proper manner. In our view, there is great deal of force in what Mr. Sen urges. It seems to us that the last ten words in sub-rule (1) of rule 20 do confer a dis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... one outside India, the court might have sent, even before the insertion of rule 20A, the summons by registered post to his address abroad without affixing a copy thereof in the court-house. In Narendra Kishore Das v. Banamali Sahu Dibakar Sahu Firm the Division Bench of the Orissa High Court held that the last mode of service, namely, " or in such other manner as the court thinks fit ", no doubt, gives the court the jurisdiction to have the service of summons through registered post. In our opinion, the case of Jhabar Mal Chokhani v. Commissioner of Income-tax was wrongly decided. In the result we accept the appeal, set aside the judgment of the High Court and answer the question in the affirmative and against the assessee. In the circum ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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