TMI Blog1990 (7) TMI 59X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and for other reasons" mentioned in the said order. Section 127 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, empowers the Commissioner of Income-tax to transfer any case from one officer subordinate to him to another officer subordinate to him for reasons recorded by him and also after affording a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the assessee concerned. In this case, a notice was given to the petitioner and 29 other assessees, calling upon them to show cause why their cases should not be transferred from Muzaffarnagar to Meerut "with a view to ensure proper and coordinated investigation." The petitioner and the others filed common reply, after considering which the impugned order was passed. The impugned order recites the following facts : Whe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... duties. Sri Rajesh Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that none of the partners of the petitioner firm were responsible for the incidents in question and that merely because some incident had taken place at Muzaffarnagar, it is not open to the Department to transfer the cases of all the assessees at Muzaffarnagar to another station. We find this argument too simplistic to merit any consideration. The writ petition is filed by the partnership firm, Messrs. Mahesh Chand Vishan Swarup. The affidavit in support of the writ petition is sworn to by Sri "Ajai Swarup ... son of Sri Vishan Swarup, resident of 196, Civil Lines, Muzaffarnagar". The impugned order shows that 30 persons, whose cases have been transferred thereunder, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to violence against the officials in the impugned order, without mentioning them in the showcause notices, constitutes a violation of the principles of natural justice. It is true that the show-cause notices do not appear to mention the facts relating to use of violence against the income-tax officials, but we find that the said ground is really technical in nature and that no prejudice has really been caused to the petitioners on this account. Significantly enough, the petitioners have not cared to file a copy of their reply to the show-cause notices, which would have shown that they were fully aware of the case against them. The impugned order sets out the substance of the common reply given by the petitioners and other assessees which c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... principles of the said judgment, we must hold that mere allegation that the facts relating to the incident of violence against the officials of the Income-tax Department were not mentioned in the showcause notice by itself does not warrant the quashing of the impugned order. The petitioners were fully aware of the said ground. The impugned order shows that they had put forward their case with respect to the said incident in their reply. In other words, they knew fully well that the said incident of violence against the officials of the Department was one of the grounds for transferring their cases to Meerut and they met that case also fully. We must emphasise that the ground of transfer is ensuring of proper and coordinated investigation. T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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