Advocates:
['AJAY SINGH', '', 'RAMANUJ TIWARI', 'A S G I', '', 'GAURAV MAHAJAN']

Court No. - 3

Case :- WRIT TAX No. - 352 of 2021

Petitioner :- The High Court Bar Association Allahabad

Respondent :- Union Of India And 5 Others

Counsel for Petitioner :- Ajay Singh,Ramanuj Tiwari

Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,Gaurav Mahajan

Hon'ble Naheed Ara Moonis,J.

Hon'ble Saumitra Dayal Singh,J.

Heard Sri Rakesh Ranjan Agrawal, Sri Amrendra Nath Singh,

learned Senior Advocates with Sri Prabha Shankar Mishra, Sri

Vinay Kumar Tiwari, Sri Anil Pathak, Sri Ramanuj Tiwari, Sri

Amitabh Agrawal and Sri Ajit Kumar, learned Advocates, for

the petitioner; Sri Gaurav Mahajan learned counsel for the

revenue and Sri Krishna Agarwal, learned counsel for the union

of India.

The present petition has been filed by the High Court Bar

Association, Allahabad to quash the assessment order dated

24.12.2019 passed by the Income Tax Officer-1 (5), Allahabad

assessing the petitioner society to tax for the assessment year

2017-18 under the provisions of Section 144 of The Income Tax

Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred as to the 'Act').

The writ petition appears to have been filed in June, 2021 i.e.

with laches of more than one and a half year. At the fresh stage

itself, affidavits have been exchanged. The orders contained on

the order sheet do not reflect any substantial hearing has taken

place, till now. However, by the order dated 25.06.2021, on the

prayer of learned counsel for the Revenue, time was granted to

file a counter affidavit. Thus, affidavits came to be exchanged at

the fresh stage itself.

Upon the matter being heard, preliminary objection has been

raised by Shri Gaurav Mahajan, learned counsel for the revenue

that the present petition may not be entertained as the impugned

order is appealable. In any case, in paragraph no. 58 of the writ

petition, it is specifically admitted that the petitioner has not

filed any appeal within the period of limitation as provided by

the Act and instead, filed a revision under Section 264 of the

Act. For ready reference averment contained in the paragraph

no. 58 of the writ petition is reproduced as under:-

" 58. That the HCBA Allahabad has not filed appeal before

CIT (Appeals) and time has also expired. The HCBA

Allahabad expressly waives their rights to file appeal before

CIT (Appeals). Aggrieved with the Assessment Order, Revision

Petition has been filed under Section 264. Revision Petition is

in time and is maintainable."

Relying on a decision of the co-ordinate Bench of this Court in

the State of Uttar Pradesh vs. Union of India (2003) 264 ITR

239 (Allahabad) and Commissioner of Income Tax vs.

Chhabil Dass Agarwal (2013) 357 ITR 357 (SC), it has been

vehemently contended that the petitioner had available to it and

it has availed the alternate remedy of Revision against the order.

Therefore, the writ petition is liable to be dismissed on the

ground of having availed alternate remedy. It has also been

objected by Shri Mahajan that in any case, the present writ

petition has been filed with a long delay/latches which has not

been explained.

The above preliminary objection has been refuted by learned

Senior Counsel for the petitioner by submitting that in the first

place, the preliminary objection was not raised at the stage of

initial hearing in the matter. Then, it has been submitted that the

petitioner had responded to all the notices issued by the

Assessing Authority in the course of the assessment

proceedings. Thereby, it had brought on record the bye-laws of

the petitioner society to establish that it exists for the mutual

benefit of the members and that all its receipts are excluded

from the taxability of the Principle of Mutuality. The petitioner

society is also stated to have participated on all dates fixed in

the assessment proceedings. Without adverting to the merits of

the objections raised by the petitioner society and without

reaching any conclusion as to non-compliance made by the

petitioner society to any of the notices issued during t