( 1 ) AN important question repeatedly raised before the Admission Benches of the High Courts is whether and if so when a writ petition challenging the validity of an order of a statutory authority should be entertained even though a statutory appeal is provided against the said order but is not availed of by the petitioner.

( 2 ) THIS and the connected writ petition (civil writ 781 of 1974) each challenges the validity of an order of the Additional Commissioner of Income-tax passed under section 263 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 cancelling the order of assessment made by the Income-Tax Officer and asking the Income Tax Officer to make a fresh assessment. These orders were appealable under section 253 of the said Act to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal but neither have they been appealed against nor has any explanation been given in the writ petitions as to why the petitioners chose not to file appeals but to file these writ petitions.

( 3 ) THE challenge to the impugned orders is two-fold, namely, (a) that the conditions to be fulfilled before the Additional Commissioner could assume jurisdiction under section 263 to revise the orders of the Income Tax Officer w