Badar Durrez Ahmed, ACJ

1. This writ petition is directed against the order dated 24.01.2013 passed by the Income Tax Settlement Commission, Principal Bench, New Delhi under Section 245D(2C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the said Act’). By virtue of the impugned order dated 24.01.2013, the Income Tax Settlement Commission (hereinafter referredto as ‘the Settlement Commission’) held the settlement applications of the Respondent Nos. 2 to 5 to be “not invalid” and were therefore allowed to be proceeded with inasmuch as the said settlement applications had, in the view of the Settlement Commission, prima facie, fulfilled all the conditions prescribed under Section 245C(1) and 245D(2C) of the said Act. The petitioner (Commissioner of Income-tax) is aggrieved by the said order dated 24.01.2013 inasmuch as according to the petitioner, the settlement applications filed on behalf of the respondents 2 to 5 ought not to have been proceeded with and ought to have been held as “invalid” because the settlement applications failed to satisfy the pre-requisites stipulated in Section 245C of the said Act. Those pre-requisites being, full and true disclosure, t