JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking issuance of a writ of declaration (i) to declare the impugned insertion / provisions of Section 292CC by the Finance Act 2012 as illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair and violative of various Articles of Constitution, particularly Articles 14 19 and 21, void, invalid in law, unconstitutional; (ii) to declare the impugned insertion/Explanation of the Finance Act 2017 in Section 132 (1) of the INCOME TAX ACT 1961 with retrospective effect from 1st April 1962, further inserted an Explanation under Section 132 (1A) of the Act with retrospective effect from 01.10.1975 and further inserted an Explanation in Section 132 A of the Act with retrospective effect from 01.10.1975 as illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable, unfair and violative of various Articles of Constitution, particularly Articles 14 19 and 21, void, invalid in law, unconstitutional; and (iii) to declare the impugned assessment orders passed by the fourth respondent against the petitioner (a) dated 30.9.2021 for the assessment year 2015-2016 bearing DIN in Order No.ITBA/AST/S/153A/2021-2022/1036077130(1) under Section 153A of the INCOME TAX ACT , 1961 for the assessment year 2015-2016; (b) dated 30.9.2021 for the assessment year 2014-2015 bearing DIN in Order No.ITBA/ AST/S/153A/2021-2022/1036074930(1) under Section 153A; (c) dated 30.9.2021 for the assessment year 2017-2018 bearing DIN and Order No.ITBA/AST/S/143(3)/2021-2022/1036074462(1) under Section 143(3) of the INCOME TAX ACT , 1961; (d) dated 30.9.2021 for the assessment year 2016-2017 bearing DIN in Order No.ITBA/ AST/S/153A/2021-2022/1036080132(1) under Section 153A, all issued by the fourth respondent ACIT Central Circle2(4) herein as unreasonable, illegal, wholly without jurisdiction and violative of principles of natural justice.)

Common Order:

Munishwar Nath Bhandari, CJ.

THE CHALLENGE IN THESE WRIT PETITIONS:

A batch of four writ petitions has been filed by the petitioner to challenge the constitutional validity of Section 292CC inserted by the Finance Act, 2012 alleging it to be violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India and to pass consequential order in favour of the petitioner.

2. A further challenge has been made to declare the Explanation added under Section 132 (1) of the INCOME TAX ACT , 1961 by the Finance Act, 2017 with retrospective effect from 1.4.1962; the Explanation added under Section 132 (1A) of the Act of 1961 and under Section 132 A of the Act of 1961 with retrospective effect from 1.10.1975 to be illegal and arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

3. A challenge is also made to the assessment orders dated 30.9.2021 passed by the fourth respondent for the assessment years 2014-2015, 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 under Section 153A of the Act of 1961.

THE FACTUAL MATRIX:

4. The brief facts for filing of the writ petitions to challenge the constitutional validity of the provisions referred to above and even the assessment orders dated 30.9.2021 for four different assessment years are that the petitioner is primarily involved in the business of letting on hire the excavators, equipment and vehicles for sand mining activities to yard owners and various third party clients involved in excavation activities and other related works. The petitioner firm was constituted on 29.11.2013. It was not involved in sand mining, however, a search and seizure under Section 132 Act of 1961 was conducted on 8.12.2016