Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2024 Supreme(SC) 854

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, CJI, J.B. PARDIWALA, MANOJ MISRA, JJ.
Union of India & Ors. - Appellants
Versus
Rajeev Bansal - Respondent
Civil Appeal No. 8629 of 2024 With C.A. No. 8631/2024, C.A. No. 9270/2024, C.A. No. 8632/2024, C.A. No. 10238/2024, C.A. No. 8640/2024, C.A. No. 10239/2024, C.A. No. 10240/2024, C.A. No. 8644/2024, C.A. No. 8641/2024, C.A. No. 8650/2024, C.A. No. 8645/2024, C.A. No. 8643/2024, C.A. No. 8649/2024, C.A. No. 8652/2024, C.A. No. 8642/2024, C.A. No. 8647/2024, C.A. No. 8636/2024, C.A. No. 8646/2024, C.A. No. 8639/2024, C.A. No. 8648/2024, C.A. No. 8634/2024, C.A. No. 8651/2024, C.A. No. 8653/2024, C.A. No. 8637/2024, C.A. No. 8654/2024, C.A. No. 8658/2024, C.A. No. 8661/2024, C.A. No. 8638/2024, C.A. No. 8659/2024, C.A. No. 8660/2024, C.A. No. 8662/2024, C.A. No. 8655/2024, C.A. No. 8664/2024, T.P.(C) No. 767/2023, C.A. No. 9253/2024, C.A. No. 8702/2024, C.A. No. 8667/2024, C.A. No. 8666/2024, C.A. No. 8843-8844/2024, C.A. No. 8668/2024, C.A. No. 8678/2024, C.A. No. 8680/2024, C.A. No. 8679/2024, C.A. No. 8669/2024, C.A. No. 8673/2024, C.A. No. 8682/2024, C.A. No. 10242/2024, C.A. No. 8683/2024, C.A. No. 8685/2024, C.A. No. 8687/2024, C.A. No. 10244/2024, C.A. No. 8684/2024, C.A. No. 8671/2024, C.A. No. 9822/2024, C.A. No. 8689/2024, C.A. No. 10245/2024, C.A. No. 8672/2024, C.A. No. 10246/2024, C.A. No. 8670/2024, C.A. No. 8681/2024, C.A. No. 10250/2024, C.A. No. 8676/2024, C.A. No. 8686/2024, C.A. No. 8688/2024, C.A. No. 10251/2024, C.A. No. 10252/2024, C.A. No. 8695/2024, C.A. No. 8674/2024, C.A. No. 8677/2024, C.A. No. 8713/2024, C.A. No. 8692/2024, C.A. No. 8690/2024, C.A. No. 8699/2024, C.A. No. 8691/2024, C.A. No. 8704/2024, C.A. No. 10254/2024, C.A. No. 8845/2024, C.A. No. 8846/2024, C.A. No. 8696/2024, C.A. No. 8707/2024, C.A. No. 8697/2024, C.A. No. 8847/2024, C.A. No. 8706/2024, C.A. No. 8852/2024, C.A. No. 8705/2024, C.A. No. 8848/2024, C.A. No. 8709/2024, C.A. No. 8708/2024, C.A. No. 8703/2024, C.A. No. 8849/2024, C.A. No. 8630/2024, C.A. No. 8656/2024, C.A. No. 8665/2024, T.P.(C) No. 2187-2194/2024, C.A. No. 8675/2024, C.A. No. 8700/2024, C.A. No. 8969/2024, C.A. No. 8746/2024, C.A. No. 8825/2024, C.A. No. 8698/2024, C.A. No. 8693/2024, C.A. No. 8800/2024, C.A. No. 9507/2024, C.A. No. 8710/2024, C.A. No. 8799/2024, C.A. No. 10257/2024, C.A. No. 8694/2024, C.A. No. 8716/2024, C.A. No. 8719/2024, C.A. No. 8717/2024, C.A. No. 8736/2024, C.A. No. 8712/2024, C.A. No. 8723/2024, C.A. No. 8727/2024, C.A. No. 8718/2024, C.A. No. 8729/2024, C.A. No. 8953/2024, C.A. No. 8711/2024, C.A. No. 8738/2024, C.A. No. 8724/2024, C.A. No. 8714/2024, C.A. No. 8730/2024, C.A. No. 8701/2024, C.A. No. 8732/2024, C.A. No. 8720/2024, C.A. No. 8731/2024, C.A. No. 8734/2024, C.A. No. 8733/2024, C.A. No. 8721/2024, C.A. No. 8715/2024, C.A. No. 8735/2024, C.A. No. 8725/2024, C.A. No. 8726/2024, C.A. No. 8742/2024, C.A. No. 8737/2024, C.A. No. 8747/2024, C.A. No. 8728/2024, C.A. No. 8722/2024, C.A. No. 8740/2024, C.A. No. 8942/2024, T.P.(C) No. 2127/2024, C.A. No. 8739/2024, C.A. No. 8955/2024, C.A. No. 8745/2024, C.A. No. 8794/2024, C.A. No. 8743/2024, C.A. No. 8751/2024, C.A. No. 8795/2024, C.A. No. 9217/2024, C.A. No. 8798/2024, C.A. No. 8749/2024, C.A. No. 8750/2024, C.A. No. 8943/2024, C.A. No. 8948/2024, C.A. No. 8966/2024, C.A. No. 8949/2024, C.A. No. 8741/2024, C.A. No. 8951/2024, C.A. No. 8952/2024, C.A. No. 8748/2024, C.A. No. 8796/2024, C.A. No. 8950/2024, C.A. No. 8954/2024, C.A. No. 8744/2024, C.A. No. 8797/2024, T.P.(C) No. 2714-2723/2023, C.A. No. 8802/2024, C.A. No. 8956/2024, C.A. No. 9056/2024, C.A. No. 8826/2024, C.A. No. 8958/2024, C.A. No. 8957/2024, C.A. No. 8827/2024, C.A. No. 8959/2024, C.A. No. 8962/2024, C.A. No. 9044/2024, C.A. No. 8967/2024, C.A. No. 8963/2024, T.P.(C) No. 2942/2023, T.P.(C) No. 2937/2023, C.A. No. 9052/2024, C.A. No. 9170/2024, C.A. No. 9048/2024, C.A. No. 9180/2024, C.A. No. 9186/2024, C.A. No. 9043/2024, C.A. No. 9046/2024, C.A. No. 8960/2024, C.A. No. 9231/2024, C.A. No. 8964/2024, C.A. No. 9042/2024, C.A. No. 9228/2024, C.A. No. 8961/2024, C.A. No. 9202/2024, C.A. No. 9205/2024, C.A. No. 9184/2024, C.A. No. 9172/2024, C.A. No. 9177/2024, C.A. No. 8896/2024, C.A. No. 9225/2024, C.A. No. 9619/2024, C.A. No. 9238/2024, C.A. No. 9208/2024, C.A. No. 9189/2024, C.A. No. 9220/2024, C.A. No. 8897/2024, C.A. No. 8905/2024, C.A. No. 8930/2024, C.A. No. 9223/2024, C.A. No. 8898/2024, C.A. No. 8926/2024, C.A. No. 8899/2024, C.A. No. 9240/2024, C.A. No. 8900/2024, C.A. No. 8895/2024, C.A. No. 8906/2024, C.A. No. 8901/2024, C.A. No. 9503/2024, C.A. No. 8907/2024, C.A. No. 8908/2024, C.A. No. 8909/2024, C.A. No. 8902/2024, C.A. No. 8903/2024, C.A. No. 8904/2024, C.A. No. 9280/2024, C.A. No. 8910/2024, C.A. No. 9282/2024, C.A. No. 9285/2024, C.A. No. 9287/2024, C.A. No. 9296/2024, C.A. No. 9298/2024, C.A. No. 9300/2024, C.A. No. 9302/2024, C.A. No. 9304/2024, C.A. No. 8911/2024, C.A. No. 9305/2024, C.A. No. 9306/2024, C.A. No. 9311/2024, C.A. No. 9314/2024, C.A. No. 9312/2024, C.A. No. 8976/2024, C.A. No. 8994/2024, C.A. No. 8912/2024, C.A. No. 8977/2024, C.A. No. 8850/2024, C.A. No. 8978/2024, C.A. No. 8983/2024, C.A. No. 8972/2024, C.A. No. 8973/2024, C.A. No. 8974/2024, C.A. No. 8995/2024, C.A. No. 8996/2024, C.A. No. 8984/2024, C.A. No. 8985/2024, C.A. No. 8988/2024, C.A. No. 8989/2024, C.A. No. 8990/2024, C.A. No. 8999/2024, C.A. No. 8913/2024, C.A. No. 8991/2024, C.A. No. 10215/2024, C.A. No. 8992/2024, C.A. No. 9001/2024, C.A. No. 9002/2024, C.A. No. 8914/2024, C.A. No. 9003/2024, C.A. No. 8993/2024, C.A. No. 9005/2024, C.A. No. 9006/2024, C.A. No. 8635/2024, C.A. No. 10984 /2024 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 23391/2024) (Diary No 24653/2023), C.A. No. 9261/2024, C.A. No. 9273/2024, C.A. No. 9038/2024, C.A. No. 8997/2024, C.A. No. 9000/2024, C.A. No. 9039/2024, C.A. No. 9008/2024, C.A. No. 9009/2024, C.A. No. 9010/2024, C.A. No. 9025/2024, C.A. No. 9027/2024, C.A. No. 9004/2024, C.A. No. 9011/2024, C.A. No. 8915/2024, C.A. No. 9012/2024, C.A. No. 9041/2024, C.A. No. 9289/2024, C.A. No. 8916/2024, C.A. No. 9250/2024, C.A. No. 9013/2024, C.A. No. 9014/2024, C.A. No. 9028/2024, C.A. No. 9168/2024, C.A. No. 9015/2024, C.A. No. 9171/2024, C.A. No. 8917/2024, C.A. No. 9016/2024, C.A. No. 9017/2024, C.A. No. 9007/2024, C.A. No. 9018/2024, C.A. No. 9019/2024, C.A. No. 9759/2024, C.A. No. 8918/2024, C.A. No. 9020/2024, C.A. No. 9021/2024, C.A. No. 9248/2024, C.A. No. 9030/2024, C.A. No. 9031/2024, C.A. No. 9023/2024, C.A. No. 8919/2024, C.A. No. 8920/2024, C.A. No. 9032/2024, C.A. No. 9173/2024, C.A. No. 9175/2024, C.A. No. 8946/2024, C.A. No. 8921/2024, C.A. No. 8922/2024, C.A. No. 9024/2024, C.A. No. 9262/2024, C.A. No. 9247/2024, C.A. No. 9033/2024, C.A. No. 9178/2024, C.A. No. 8923/2024, C.A. No. 8924/2024, C.A. No. 9181/2024, C.A. No. 9183/2024, C.A. No. 9187/2024, C.A. No. 9191/2024, C.A. No. 9194/2024, C.A. No. 9195/2024, C.A. No. 9760/2024, C.A. No. 9037/2024, C.A. No. 9196/2024, C.A. No. 9221/2024, C.A. No. 9198/2024, C.A. No. 9266/2024, C.A. No. 9224/2024, C.A. No. 9201/2024, C.A. No. 9203/2024, C.A. No. 9226/2024, C.A. No. 9230/2024, C.A. No. 8998/2024, C.A. No. 9053/2024, C.A. No. 9207/2024, C.A. No. 9210/2024, C.A. No. 9055/2024, C.A. No. 9232/2024, C.A. No. 9233/2024, C.A. No. 9236/2024, C.A. No. 9212/2024, C.A. No. 9239/2024, C.A. No. 9215/2024, C.A. No. 9243/2024, C.A. No. 9245/2024, C.A. No. 9252/2024, C.A. No. 9216/2024, C.A. No. 9295/2024, C.A. No. 9057/2024, C.A. No. 9269/2024, C.A. No. 9254/2024, C.A. No. 9058/2024, C.A. No. 9271/2024, C.A. No. 9272/2024, C.A. No. 9255/2024, C.A. No. 9256/2024, C.A. No. 9258/2024, C.A. No. 9275/2024, C.A. No. 9260/2024, C.A. No. 9806/2024, C.A. No. 9188/2024, C.A. No. 9192/2024, C.A. No. 9211/2024, C.A. No. 9200/2024, C.A. No. 9213/2024, C.A. No. 9218/2024, C.A. No. 9222/2024, C.A. No. 9229/2024, C.A. No. 9234/2024, C.A. No. 9824/2024, C.A. No. 9825/2024, C.A. No. 9235/2024, C.A. No. 9241/2024, C.A. No. 9364/2024, C.A. No. 9602/2024, C.A. No. 9330/2024, C.A. No. 9204/2024, C.A. No. 9206/2024, C.A. No. 9246/2024, C.A. No. 9331/2024, C.A. No. 9257/2024, C.A. No. 9259/2024, C.A. No. 9263/2024, C.A. No. 9332/2024, C.A. No. 9333/2024, C.A. No. 9264/2024, C.A. No. 9265/2024, C.A. No. 9334/2024, C.A. No. 9267/2024, C.A. No. 9335/2024, C.A. No. 9365/2024, C.A. No. 9336/2024, C.A. No. 9268/2024, C.A. No. 9288/2024, C.A. No. 9290/2024, C.A. No. 9291/2024, C.A. No. 9292/2024, C.A. No. 9293/2024, C.A. No. 9337/2024, C.A. No. 9801/2024, C.A. No. 9803/2024, C.A. No. 9294/2024, C.A. No. 9338/2024, C.A. No. 9348/2024, C.A. No. 9799/2024, C.A. No. 9321/2024, C.A. No. 9322/2024, C.A. No. 9366/2024, C.A. No. 9349/2024, C.A. No. 9351/2024, C.A. No. 9323/2024, C.A. No. 9374/2024, C.A. No. 9324/2024, C.A. No. 9375/2024, C.A. No. 9376/2024, C.A. No. 9378/2024, C.A. No. 9805/2024, C.A. No. 9325/2024, C.A. No. 9329/2024, C.A. No. 9352/2024, C.A. No. 9488/2024, C.A. No. 9573/2024, C.A. No. 9576/2024, C.A. No. 9574/2024, C.A. No. 9354/2024, C.A. No. 9380/2024, C.A. No. 9473/2024, C.A. No. 9581/2024, C.A. No. 9474/2024, C.A. No. 9586/2024, C.A. No. 9496/2024, C.A. No. 9497/2024, C.A. No. 9381/2024, C.A. No. 9359/2024, C.A. No. 9360/2024, C.A. No. 9499/2024, C.A. No. 9489/2024, C.A. No. 9495/2024, C.A. No. 9363/2024, C.A. No. 9575/2024, C.A. No. 9502/2024, C.A. No. 9583/2024, C.A. No. 9342/2024, C.A. No. 9341/2024, C.A. No. 9411/2024, C.A. No. 9297/2024, C.A. No. 9277/2024, C.A. No. 8851/2024, C.A. No. 9529/2024, C.A. No. 9483/2024, C.A. No. 9484/2024, C.A. No. 9800/2024, C.A. No. 9431/2024, C.A. No. 9485/2024, C.A. No. 9567/2024, C.A. No. 9432/2024, C.A. No. 9804/2024, C.A. No. 9802/2024, C.A. No. 9556/2024, C.A. No. 9487/2024, C.A. No. 9490/2024, C.A. No. 9379/2024, C.A. No. 8807/2024, C.A. No. 9433/2024, C.A. No. 9584/2024, C.A. No. 9634/2024, C.A. No. 9578/2024, C.A. No. 9585/2024, C.A. No. 9557/2024, C.A. No. 9494/2024, C.A. No. 9558/2024, C.A. No. 9498/2024, C.A. No. 9501/2024, C.A. No. 9491/2024, C.A. No. 9340/2024, C.A. No. 9449/2024, C.A. No. 9492/2024, C.A. No. 9463/2024, C.A. No. 8803/2024, C.A. No. 9353/2024, C.A. No. 9377/2024, C.A. No. 9391/2024, C.A. No. 9350/2024, C.A. No. 9450/2024, C.A. No. 9370/2024, C.A. No. 9452/2024, C.A. No. 9530/2024, C.A. No. 9373/2024, C.A. No. 9390/2024, C.A. No. 9399/2024, C.A. No. 9367/2024, C.A. No. 9356/2024, C.A. No. 9453/2024, C.A. No. 9531/2024, C.A. No. 9532/2024, C.A. No. 9389/2024, C.A. No. 9368/2024, C.A. No. 9345/2024, C.A. No. 9347/2024, C.A. No. 9386/2024, C.A. No. 9533/2024, C.A. No. 9454/2024, C.A. No. 9412/2024, C.A. No. 9414/2024, C.A. No. 9387/2024, C.A. No. 9461/2024, C.A. No. 9925/2024, C.A. No. 9493/2024, C.A. No. 9395/2024, C.A. No. 9534/2024, C.A. No. 8809/2024, C.A. No. 9392/2024, C.A. No. 8804/2024, C.A. No. 9396/2024, C.A. No. 8805/2024, C.A. No. 9437/2024, C.A. No. 9328/2024, C.A. No. 9447/2024, C.A. No. 9455/2024, C.A. No. 9535/2024, C.A. No. 9346/2024, C.A. No. 9465/2024, C.A. No. 9451/2024, C.A. No. 8810/2024, C.A. No. 9398/2024, C.A. No. 9388/2024, C.A. No. 9517/2024, C.A. No. 9559/2024, C.A. No. 9430/2024, C.A. No. 9394/2024, C.A. No. 9459/2024, C.A. No. 9560/2024, C.A. No. 9358/2024, C.A. No. 9536/2024, C.A. No. 8808/2024, C.A. No. 9456/2024, C.A. No. 9384/2024, C.A. No. 9383/2024, C.A. No. 9371/2024, C.A. No. 9457/2024, C.A. No. 9393/2024, C.A. No. 9561/2024, C.A. No. 9518/2024, C.A. No. 9568/2024, C.A. No. 9519/2024, C.A. No. 9520/2024, C.A. No. 9537/2024, C.A. No. 9562/2024, C.A. No. 9538/2024, C.A. No. 9563/2024, C.A. No. 9407/2024, C.A. No. 9397/2024, C.A. No. 8814/2024, C.A. No. 9564/2024, C.A. No. 9408/2024, C.A. No. 9539/2024, C.A. No. 9436/2024, C.A. No. 8811/2024, C.A. No. 9446/2024, C.A. No. 9460/2024, C.A. No. 9540/2024, C.A. No. 8806/2024, C.A. No. 9541/2024, C.A. No. 9542/2024, C.A. No. 9543/2024, C.A. No. 9544/2024, C.A. No. 9521/2024, C.A. No. 9400/2024, C.A. No. 9545/2024, C.A. No. 9522/2024, C.A. No. 9438/2024, C.A. No. 8836-8837/2024, C.A. No. 9441/2024, C.A. No. 9468/2024, C.A. No. 9546/2024, C.A. No. 9547/2024, C.A. No. 9523/2024, C.A. No. 9571/2024, C.A. No. 9548/2024, C.A. No. 9319/2024, C.A. No. 9401/2024, C.A. No. 9355/2024, C.A. No. 9361/2024, C.A. No. 9471/2024, C.A. No. 9472/2024, C.A. No. 9362/2024, C.A. No. 9549/2024, C.A. No. 9467/2024, C.A. No. 9550/2024, C.A. No. 9448/2024, C.A. No. 9551/2024, C.A. No. 9445/2024, C.A. No. 9552/2024, C.A. No. 9443/2024, C.A. No. 8945/2024, C.A. No. 8813/2024, C.A. No. 9339/2024, C.A. No. 9464/2024, C.A. No. 9565/2024, C.A. No. 8817/2024, C.A. No. 9524/2024, C.A. No. 9310/2024, C.A. No. 9553/2024, C.A. No. 9343/2024, C.A. No. 8835/2024, C.A. No. 9313/2024, C.A. No. 9357/2024, C.A. No. 9372/2024, C.A. No. 8933/2024, C.A. No. 9554/2024, C.A. No. 8812/2024, C.A. No. 9525/2024, C.A. No. 8815/2024, C.A. No. 9320/2024, C.A. No. 9442/2024, C.A. No. 9466/2024, C.A. No. 9526/2024, C.A. No. 9439/2024, C.A. No. 9926/2024, C.A. No. 9555/2024, C.A. No. 9527/2024, C.A. No. 8935/2024, C.A. No. 9385/2024, C.A. No. 9528/2024, C.A. No. 8816/2024, C.A. No. 8936/2024, C.A. No. 8839/2024, C.A. No. 9572/2024, C.A. No. 9440/2024, C.A. No. 9344/2024, C.A. No. 9566/2024, C.A. No. 9237/2024, C.A. No. 9242/2024, C.A. No. 8633/2024, C.A. No. 8657/2024, C.A. No. 9251/2024, C.A. No. 9569/2024, C.A. No. 9307/2024, C.A. No. 9570/2024, C.A. No. 9577/2024, C.A. No. 10293/2024, C.A. No. 9435/2024, C.A. No. 9403/2024, C.A. No. 8834/2024, C.A. No. 9382/2024, C.A. No. 9579/2024, C.A. No. 9318/2024, C.A. No. 9580/2024, C.A. No. 9315/2024, C.A. No. 9326/2024, C.A. No. 9405/2024, C.A. No. 9591/2024, C.A. No. 9406/2024, C.A. No. 9593/2024, C.A. No. 9582/2024, C.A. No. 9587/2024, C.A. No. 9594/2024, C.A. No. 9054/2024, C.A. No. 10985/2024 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 17283/2024), C.A. No. 9402/2024, C.A. No. 9047/2024, C.A. No. 9588/2024, C.A. No. 8934/2024, C.A. No. 9595/2024, C.A. No. 9404/2024, C.A. No. 9409/2024, C.A. No. 9589/2024, C.A. No. 8833/2024, C.A. No. 9244/2024, C.A. No. 9249/2024, C.A. No. 9426/2024, C.A. No. 9045/2024, C.A. No. 9281/2024, C.A. No. 10036/2024, C.A. No. 9600/2024, C.A. No. 8937/2024, C.A. No. 9278/2024, C.A. No. 9590/2024, C.A. No. 9601/2024, C.A. No. 9169/2024, C.A. No. 10986/2024 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 17284/2024), C.A. No. 9274/2024, C.A. No. 9276/2024, C.A. No. 9416/2024, C.A. No. 9286/2024, C.A. No. 9179/2024, C.A. No. 9227/2024, C.A. No. 9219/2024, C.A. No. 9209/2024, C.A. No. 9415/2024, C.A. No. 9279/2024, C.A. No. 9417/2024, C.A. No. 8828/2024, C.A. No. 8832/2024, C.A. No. 9190/2024, C.A. No. 9182/2024, C.A. No. 9197/2024, C.A. No. 9283/2024, C.A. No. 9174/2024, C.A. No. 10987/2024 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 17286/2024), C.A. No. 9176/2024, C.A. No. 10988/2024 (Arising out of SLP(C) No. 17287/2024), C.A. No. 9418/2024, C.A. No. 9284/2024, C.A. No. 9419/2024, C.A. No. 8829/2024, C.A. No. 9214/2024, C.A. No. 9420/2024, C.A. No. 9193/2024, C.A. No. 8831/2024, C.A. No. 9185/2024, C.A. No. 9421/2024, C.A. No. 9423/2024, C.A. No. 9424/2024, C.A. No. 8830/2024 And With C.A. No. 9425/2024
Decided On : 03-10-2024

Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant(s) Mr. N Venkataraman, A.S.G. Mr. Rupesh Kumar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, AOR Mr. Shashank Bajpai, Adv. Mr. Venkataraman Chandrashekhara Bharathi, Adv. Mrs. Alka Agarawal, Adv. Mr. Ishaan Sharma, Adv. Mr. Annirudh Sharma Ii, Adv. Mr. Alka Aggarwal, Adv. Mrs. Anamika Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Praneet Pranab, Adv. Mrs. Anamika Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Santosh Kumar, Adv. Mrs. A Deepa, Adv. Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Adv. Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR Mr. Mahesh Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Alok Yadav, Adv. Mr. M.S. Ananth, Adv. Mr. Abhinabh Garg, Adv. Ms. Sayaree Basu Mallik, Adv. Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR Mr. Tushar Thareja, Adv. Mr. Rishabh Ostwal, Adv. Mr. Bhakti Vardhan Singh, AOR Mr. Ajay Kumar, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Ved Jain, Adv. Mr. Nischay Kantoor, Adv. Ms. Soniya Dodeja, Adv. Mr. Divyansh Dubey, Adv. Mr. Subodh S. Patil, AOR Mr. Sonal Jain, AOR Mr. Ruchesh Sinha, Adv. Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Yashvi Aswani, Adv. Dr. Prashant Pratap, Adv. Ms. Anupriya Dixit, Adv. Mr. Amjid Maqbool, Adv. Ms. Pallavi Pratap, AOR Mr. Harish Pandey, AOR Mrs. Vanita Bhargava, Adv. Mr. Ajay Bhargava, Adv. Ms. Nandita Chauhan, Adv. Ms. Tijil Thakur, Adv. M/S. Khaitan & Co., AOR Mr. R. K. Patel, Sr. Adv. Mr. Saurabh Soparkar, Sr. Adv. Mr. Malak Manish Bhatt, AOR Mr. Dhinal Shah, Adv. Mr. Darshan Patel, Adv. Mr. Bandish Soparkar, Adv. Ms. Samridhi, Adv. Ms. Sukanya Joshi, Adv. Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR Ms. Sagun Srivastava, Adv. Ms. Kriti Gupta, Adv. Mr. Deepak Prakash, AOR Mr. Merusagar Samantaray, AOR Mr. Mohit Balani, Adv. Mr. Pulkit Agarwal, AOR Mr. Sudhanshu Kaushesh, Adv. Mr. Rahul Kaushik, AOR Mr. Devendra Singh, AOR Mr. Ankit Anandraj Shah, AOR Mr. Niraj Gupta, AOR Mrs. Anshu Gupta, Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Jain, Adv. Dr. K. Shivaram, Sr. Adv. Mr. Manish Paliwal, AOR Mr. Rahul Hakani, Adv. Mr. Shashi Bekal, Adv. Ms. Niyati Mankad, Adv. Ms. Neelam Jadhav, Adv. Mr. Rohit Singh, AOR Mr. Kartik Kurmy, Adv. Mr. Ashok Anand, AOR Mr. S. K. Verma, AOR Ms. Rutuja N Pawar, Adv. Ms. Hetal Laghave, Adv. Ms. Sneha More, Adv. Mr. Saurabh Upadhyay, Adv. Ms. Hardikaa Kalia, Adv. Ms. Tavishi Jain, Adv. Mr. Vikas Verma, Adv. Mr. Suryanarayana Singh, Sr. Adv. Ms. Pragati Neekhra, AOR Mr. Aditya Bhanu Neekhra, Adv. Mr. Atul Dong, Adv. Mr. Aniket Patel, Adv. Mr. Mahesh Aaarwal, Adv. Mr. Alok Yadav, Adv. Mr. M.s. Ananth, Adv. Mr. Abhinabh Garg, Adv. Mr. E. C. Agrawala, AOR Mr. Rahul Krishna, AOR Ms. Astha Tyagi, AOR Mr. Vinod Mehta, Adv. Mr. Madhur Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Kunal Cheema, AOR Mr. Raghav Deshpande, Adv. Mr. Shubham Chandankhede, Adv. Mr. Rohit K. Singh, AOR Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Adv. Mr. Somil Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Dushyant Kumar, Adv. Mr. Ambhoj Kumar Sinha, AOR Ms. Hetu Arora Sethi, AOR Mr. V Sridharan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Ravi Sawana, Adv. Mr. S Sriram, Adv. Mr. Karanjot Singh Khurana, Adv. Mr. S Vasudevan, Adv. Ms. Neha Choudhary, Adv. Ms. Neha Sharma, Adv. Mr. Devashish Jain, Adv. Mr. Sridattha Charan, Adv. Mr. Romil Hotwani, Adv. Ms. Charanya Lakshmikumaran, AOR Mr. Muhammad Ali Khan, Adv. Mr. Omar Hoda, Adv. Ms. Eesha Bakshi, Adv. Mr. Uday Bhatia, Adv. Mr. Kamran Khan, Adv. Mr. Arjun Sharma, Adv. Mr. Abishek Jebaraj, AOR Ms. A Reyna Shruti, Adv. Mr. Nishant Thakkar, Adv. Ms. Jasmin Amalsadvala, Adv. Mr. Hiten C Thakkar, Adv. Mr. Hitten Thakkar, Adv. Mr. Ranjan Nikhil Dharnidhar, AOR Mr. Kishore Kunal, AOR Mr. Harsh Kothari, Adv. Ms. Ankita Prakash, Adv. Ms. Aastha Mehta, Adv. Mr. Gursharan H. Virk, Adv. Mr. Simranjit H. Virk, Adv. Mr. Prashanth Undurti, Adv. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR Ms. Prerana Mohapatra, Adv. Mr. Saswat Kumar Acharya, Adv. Mr. Dhananjay Bhaskar Ray, AOR Mr. Abhijeet Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Ranka, Adv. Mr. A. Karthik, AOR Mr. Jasdeep Singh Dhillon, AOR Ms. Amanat Kaur Chahal, Adv. Mr. Yutangar Singh Chauhan, Adv. Mr. Hds Bains, Adv. Ms. R. K. Batra, Adv. Mr. Abhay Singh Mann, Adv. Mr. Jas Sanghavi, Adv. Mr. Sandeep Yadav, Adv. Mr. Raj Bahadur Yadav, AOR Mr. Kumar Kale, Adv. Mr. Dharan Gandhi, Adv. Mr. Devendra Jain, Adv. Ms. Gunjan Kakad, Adv. Mr. Rajat Mittal, AOR Mr. Suprateek Neogi, Adv. Mr. Shubhranshu Padhi, AOR Mr. Prabodha Ch. Nayak, Adv. Mr. D. Girish Kumar, Adv. Mr. Jay Nirupam, Adv. Mr. Pranav Giri, Adv. Mr. Ekansh Sisodia, Adv. Ms. A. M. Harsavardhini, Adv. Mr. Dhiraj Kumar Sammi, AOR Mr. Sanjay Prakash Goyatan, Adv. Dr. Chandrakant S.sarkar, Adv. Mr. Kapil Goel, Adv. Mr. Sougat Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sandeep Goel, Adv. Mr. Dhananjay Garg, AOR Mr. Abhishek Garg, Adv. Mr. Dinesh Kumar Garg, Adv. Mr. Tanuj Gulati, Adv. Ms. Gayathri R. Manasa, Adv. Mr. Gaurav Choudhary, Adv. Ms. Anu Kushwaha, Adv. Mr. R.p. Bansal, Adv. Mr. Percy Pardiwala, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sukhsagar Syal, Adv. Mr. C. George Thomas, AOR Mr. Ansh Mittal, Adv. Mr. Amar Dave, Sr. Adv. Mr. P. S. Sudheer, AOR Mr. Rishi Maheshwari, Adv. Ms. Anne Mathew, Adv. Mr. Bharat Sood, Adv. Ms. Miranda Solaman, Adv. Mr. Percy Pardiwala, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kunal Verma, AOR Mr. Shivraj Pawar, Adv. Mr. Jeet Kamdar, Adv. Mr. Anil Kumar, AOR Mr. Kaushik Choudhury, AOR Mr. Tushar Hemani, Sr. Adv. Ms. Vaibhavi Parikh, Adv. Ms. Anushree Prashit Kapadia, AOR Mr. Nitin Mehta, Adv. Ms. Ekta Kundu, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Wadhwa, Adv. Mr. Chand Qureshi, AOR Ms. Priyanshi Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Keshav Dev, Adv. Mrs. Arpana Soni, Adv. Mr. B. K. Satija, AOR Mr. Venketesh Chaurasia, Adv. Ms. Rano Jain, Adv. Dr. Parbodh Malhotra, Adv. Mrs. Renu Arora, Adv. Mr. Jay Kishor Singh, AOR M/S. Vachher And Agrud, AOR Mr. Salil Kapoor, Adv. Ms. Ananya Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Sanat Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Sumit Lalchandani, Adv. Mr. Ravi Kumar, Adv. Mr. Praveen Swarup, AOR Mr. Arvind Kumar, Adv. Mr. Aditya Singh, AOR Mr. Shubham Singh, Adv. Mr. Kamal Kishor, Adv. Mr. Kedar Nath Tripathy, AOR Mr. Aditya Narayan Tripathy, Adv. Mr. Percy Pardiwala, Sr. Adv. Ms. Praveena Gautam, AOR Mr. Jeet Kamdar, Adv. Mr. Pawan Shukla, Adv. Ms. Akanksha Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Ravi Bharuka, AOR Mr. Vijay H Patel, Adv. Mr. Rohit Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Shrishti Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Manish Shah, Adv. Mr. Dillip Kumar Nayak, Adv. Ms. Disha Ray, Adv. Mrs. Sumita Ray, AOR Mr. Aneesh Mittal, AOR Mr. Anil Kumar Gautam, AOR Mr. Sachit Jolly, Adv. Ms. Fereshte D Sethna, Adv. Ms. Anuradha Dutt, Adv. Ms. Soumya Singh, Adv. Mr. Mrunal Parekh, Adv. Ms. Disha Jham, Adv. Mr. Devansh Jain, Adv. Mr. Vivek Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Raghav Dutt, Adv. Ms. B. Vijayalakshmi Menon, AOR Mr. Suhrith Parthasarathy, Adv. Ms. Rashmi Nandakumar, AOR Ms. Amritha Sathyajith, Adv. Ms. Yashmita Pandey, Adv. Mr. Rohit K. Singh, AOR

Reassessment notices issued after 1 April 2021 must comply with the new regime's provisions, including updated time limits, as established by the Income Tax Act and TOLA.

Headnote:(A) Income Tax Act, 1961 - Sections 147 to 151, Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA) - Finance Act 2021 - Reassessment notices issued under the old regime declared invalid as notices under new regime - Court affirmed that notices must comply with new timelines and requirements, ensuring fairness to assesses. (Paras 1, 28, 114)

(B) Legal principles - The principle of harmonious construction dictates that amendments to legislation work in tandem with existing laws unless explicitly stated otherwise - TOLA allows certain time-relaxing measures, further emphasizing the need for judges to interpret laws to serve legislative intent. (Paras 39, 63)

(C)

Facts of the case:
The appeals concern reassessment notices issued between April and June 2021 under outdated provisions, which were deemed invalid by High Courts, arguing that the new regime should apply post-April 2021 changes. (Paras 1, 12)

(D)

Findings of Court:
TOLA extends time limits for compliance and is applicable even post-April 2021 under the new Income Tax regime, provided certain conditions are satisfied. (Paras 28, 114) (E)

Issues: Main issues included whether TOLA applies to reassessment notices issued post-1 April 2021 and the validity of those reassessment notices. (Paras 17, 18) (F)

Ratio Decidendi: The court found that reassessments issued post the new regime's enactment should comply with those provisions, and notices issued must adhere to updated time limits; otherwise, they would be invalid. (Paras 114, 115) (G)

Result: Appeals by the Revenue allowed; High Court judgments quashing reassessment notices set aside. (Para 119)

Judgement Key Points

Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points regarding the Supreme Court's judgment in Union of India & Ors. vs. Rajeev Bansal:

1. Applicability of TOLA Post-April 1, 2021 * The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Act, 2020 (TOLA) continues to apply to the Income Tax Act even after the new reassessment regime came into effect on April 1, 2021. * TOLA applies if the time limit for completing an action (such as issuing a notice or obtaining sanction) falls between March 20, 2020, and March 31, 2021, regardless of whether the relevant provision was amended by the Finance Act 2021. (!) (!) * Section 3(1) of TOLA contains a non obstante clause ("notwithstanding anything contained in the specified Act") which overrides the time limits in the Income Tax Act to provide relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (!) (!)

2. Time Limits for Issuing Reassessment Notices * General Limit (3 Years): For all situations, the time limit to issue a notice under Section 148 is three years from the end of the relevant assessment year under the new regime. (!) (!) * Extended Limit (6 Years): If the time limit under the old regime (six years) fell between March 20, 2020, and March 31, 2021, TOLA extends this deadline to June 30, 2021. Consequently, notices for assessment years where the six-year limit expired during this period can be issued until June 30, 2021. (!) (!) * Monetary Threshold: Notices invoking the extended six-year limit (under the old regime) are valid only if the escaped income amounts to or is likely to amount to ₹50 lakhs or more, as per the new regime's Section 149(1)(b). (!) (!)

3. Sanction of Specified Authority * TOLA extends the time limit for the specified authority to grant sanction under Section 151 if the time limit for such sanction falls between March 20, 2020, and March 31, 2021. (!) (!) * For the new regime, if the three-year period falls within the TOLA window, the sanctioning authority (Principal Commissioner, etc.) has time until June 30, 2021, to grant approval. (!)

4. Legal Fiction Created in Ashish Agarwal * In Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal, the Supreme Court deemed reassessment notices issued between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, under the old regime to be show-cause notices under Section 148A(b) of the new regime. (!) (!) * This legal fiction implies that all consequences flowing from the issuance of these deemed notices must be respected. (!) * The period during which the Revenue was unable to proceed with these deemed notices (due to the Court's stay and the requirement to provide information/material) must be excluded from the limitation period calculation. (!) (!) * The two-week period granted to assessee to reply to the show-cause notice must also be excluded from the limitation period. (!)

5. Validity of Notices Issued in July-September 2022 * Reassessment notices issued under the new regime between July and September 2022 are valid only if they fall within the "surviving time limit" calculated after accounting for TOLA extensions and the exclusions mandated by the Ashish Agarwal judgment. (!) * Notices issued beyond this surviving period are time-barred and invalid. (!) (!) * The High Courts' judgments quashing notices issued under the old regime between April and June 2021 are set aside to the extent they conflict with this judgment, as the notices can be deemed valid if they comply with the new regime and TOLA. (!)

JUDGMENT :

Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, CJI.

Table of Contents
A.	Background
	i. INCOME TAX ACT
	ii. TOLA
	iii. Finance Act 2021
B.	Issues
C.	Submissions
D.	Legal Background
	i. Assessment as a quasi-judicial function
	ii. Assessment as an issue of jurisdiction
	iii. Principles of strict interpretation and workability
	iv. Principle of harmonious construction
E.	Reading TOLA into the INCOME TAX ACT
	i. First proviso to Section 149 (1) of the new regime
	ii. TOLA can extend the time limit till 31 June 2021
	a. Finance Act 2021 substituted the old regime
	b. Reading TOLA into Section 149
	iii. Sanction of the specified authority
F.	Section 148 notices issued in June-September 2022
	i. Scope of Article 142
	ii. The scope of Ashish Agarwal extended to all the reassessment notices issued between 1 April 2021 and 30 June 2021 under the old regime
	iii. Effect of the legal fiction
	a. Third proviso to Section 149
	b. Interplay of Ashish Agarwal with TOLA
G.	Conclusions

1. The present batch of appeals involves the interplay of three Parliamentary statutes: the INCOME TAX ACT 1961,¹[“ INCOME TAX ACT ”], the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions) Act 2020,²[“TOLA”] and the Finance Act 2021. The INCOME TAX ACT was enacted to levy and collect tax on the income of assesses.,³[Section 2(7), INCOME TAX ACT . [It defines an “assessee” to mean “a person by whom any tax or any other sum of money is payable under this Act, and includes –

(a) every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this Act has been taken for the assessment of his income or assessment of fringe benefits or of the income of any other person in respect of which he is assessable, or of the loss sustained by him or by such other person, or of the amount of refund due to him or to such other person;

(b) every person who is deemed to be an assessee under any provisions of this Act;

(c) every person who is deemed to be an assessee in default under any provision of this Act;”] Sections 147 to 151 of the INCOME TAX ACT deal with the procedure of reassessment of income chargeable to tax which has escaped assessment. The TOLA was enacted in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide relaxation of time limits specified under the provisions of the INCOME TAX ACT and certain other legislations as defined under Section 2(1)(b) of TOLA. The Finance Act 2021 amended the provisions dealing with the reassessment procedure under the INCOME TAX ACT with effect from 1 April 2021.

A. Background

i. INCOME TAX ACT

2. Sections 147 to 151 deal with the procedure of reassessment. The scheme of reassessment under Sections 147 to 151 was substantially overhauled by the Finance Act 2021 with effect from 1 April 2021. Under the old regime, Section 147 empowered the assessing officer, ⁴[Section 2(7A), INCOME TAX ACT . [It defines an “assessing officer” to mean “the Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Director or Deputy Director or the Income-tax Officer who is vested with the relevant jurisdiction by virtue of directions or orders issued under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 120 or any other provision of this Act, and the Additional Commissioner or Additional Director or Joint Commissioner or Joint Director who is directed under clause (b) of sub-section (4) of that section to exercise or perform all or any of the powers or functions conferred on, or assigned to, an Assessing Officer under this Act.”] to reopen assessment proceedings if they had “reason to believe” that any income chargeable to tax has escaped assessment for the relevant assessment year.,⁵[ Section 147 , INCOME TAX ACT ] Section 148 mandated the assessing officer to serve a notice on the assessee requiring them to submit a return of their income.,⁶[ Section 148 , INCOME TAX ACT . [It read:

“148.(1) Before making the assessment, reassessment or recomputation unde

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2024 Supreme(SC) 854

Reassessment notices issued after 1 April 2021 must comply with the new regime's provisions, including updated time limits, as established by the Income Tax Act and TOLA.

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