TMI Blog1984 (11) TMI 17X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f wealth-tax in respect of the assessment years 1973-74 and 1974-75 of Govind Hari Singhania (Hindu undivided family). All the three assessees mentioned above are admittedly partners of JK Bankers, a partnership firm. The admitted facts are that the proceedings for assessment of wealth-tax for the assessment years 1967-68 to 1972-73 were pending against Padampat Singhania (Hindu undivided family) and one of the questions which arose in those proceedings was in regard to the value of the assets of Padampat Singhania (Hindu undivided family) vis-a-vis his share in the partnership firm, JK Bankers. A reference was made by the Wealth-tax Officer to the Valuation Officer under section 16A of the Wealth-tax Act. The order of reference was challen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... continuing the proceedings and to restrain him from proceeding any further in the matter of assessment. A preliminary objection was raised by Sri Bharatji Agarwal, senior standing counsel appearing for the Income-tax Department, that these writ petitions were not maintainable. We have heard counsel for the parties at some length on this preliminary objection. Reliance has been placed by counsel for the Income-tax Department on two decisions of the Supreme Court in Lalji Haridas v. ITO [1961] 43 ITR 387 and Lalji Haridas v. R. H. Bhatt [1965] 55 ITR 415, where it was held that whether assessment proceedings initiated against a person are barred by limitation under section 34(3) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, can and ought to be raise ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xist before the Income-tax Officer has jurisdiction to start proceedings after the expiry of 4 years. The argument that the court ought not to investigate the existence of one of these conditions, viz., that the Income-tax Officer has reason to believe that underassessment has resulted from non-disclosure of material facts, was repelled. It was held that such an argument could not be accepted. In regard to the question of maintainability of the writ petition, it was held (p. 207): " Mr. Sastri next pointed out that at the stage when the Income-tax Officer issued the notices, he was not acting judicially or quasi-judicially and so a writ of certiorari or prohibition cannot issue. It is well-settled however that though a writ of prohibition ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... atute. But, where the action of an officer is barred on admitted facts or on the face of it, then as the jurisdiction of the officer to act depends on initiation of the proceeding within the time, in such a case resort to art. 226 for obtaining relief is not inappropriate provided the other conditions for seeking relief under art. 226 are fulfilled." Reliance was also placed on the decision of a single judge of this court in Nirmal v. Rent Control and Eviction Office?, [1983] ALJ 905, where it was held: " Prohibition as is well known is a preventive rather than a corrective remedy. On establishing that even on the facts admitted or found by an authority entitled to adjudicate upon the rights of a subject, the said authority has no juris ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was confined to 1967-68 to 1972-73 only as asserted by the petitioners, (2) whether the said reference was only with regard to Padampat Singhania (HUF) or also in regard to the petitioners in these three writ petitions, and (3) whether the applications which, according to the Revenue, had been made on behalf of the assessees on March 6, 1979 and February 29, 1980, copies whereof have been filed along with the counter-affidavit and supplementary counter-affidavit, had the effect of estopping the petitioners from raising the question of limitation. In our opinion, none of these three questions raises disputed questions of fact. In regard to the answer to the first two questions, no disputed facts are to be investigated nor a finding is nee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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