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NEUTRAL CITATION

C/SCA/4358/2026 ORDER DATED: 30/03/2026

0.3309578877816691

IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4358 of 2026

With R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4400 of 2026 With

R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4433 of 2026 With R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 17538 of 2025

With R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 18087 of 2025 With

R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1712 of 2026 ==========================================================

JITENDRAKUMAR MANILAL PATEL Versus INCOME TAX OFFICER, WARD 1, MEHSANA

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Appearance:

MR HARDIK V VORA(7123) for the Petitioner(s) No. 1 MR AADITYA D BHATT(8580) for the Respondent(s) No. 1 MR MAUNIL YAJNIK for the Respondent(s) No. 1 (in SCA No.4433/2026)

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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA and

HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PRANAV TRIVEDI Date : 30/03/2026

COMMON ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA)

1. RULE. Learned Senior Standing Counsels waive service of notice of rule for and on behalf of

the respective respondent(s).

2. Learned Senior Standing Counsel Mr.Bhatt has tendered an affidavit-in-reply. The same is

ordered to be taken on record.

3. Registry shall accept appearance note of learned Senior Standing Counsels Mr.Aaditya Bhatt and Mr.Maunil Yajnik on behalf of the respective

respondent authority, as and when it is filed.

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NEUTRAL CITATION

C/SCA/4358/2026 ORDER DATED: 30/03/2026

0.3309578877816691

4. The short issue is involved in the present writ petitions hence, the same are taken up for final hearing with consent of the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties. Lead matter is Special Civil Application No.4358

of 2026.

5. The petitioner has challenged the impugned notice dated 27.03.2025 issued under section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short "the Act")

for the Assessment Year (AY) 2018-19.

6. Learned advocate Mr.Vora appearing for the petitioners has submitted that the loose paper reliance upon which is placed is neither authored nor signed by the petitioner or any of the co- owners of the land and it does not mention the name of the petitioner or any of the co-owners or purchaser. He has submitted that the only name appearing on the page is Rajubhai Thakkar Dev, who is neither the co-owner nor the purchaser and with whom petitioner has no connection and in fact, the petitioner has no knowledge of the origin or contents of the said document. It is submitted that mere reference to the land survey number without any corroborative evidence is insufficient to establish any nexus with the

petitioner.

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NEUTRAL CITATION

C/SCA/4358/2026 ORDER DATED: 30/03/2026

0.3309578877816691

7. Learned advocate Mr.vora has further submitted that perusal of the statement and loose paper indicate that they merely contain details of land/plots available for sale and do not evidence any concluded financial transaction and further it refers to Survey No.581 as NA land, whereas the land sold by the petitioner was agricultural land. It is submitted that the issue is squarely covered by the decision of this Court in the case of Deepak Chinubhai Shah vs. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 2(1)(1), Ahmedabad, [2026] 183 taxmann.com 90 (Gujarat) (Special Civil Application No.13298 of 2025 and allied matter decided on 13.01.2026). Thus, it is

urged that the present petitions may be allowed.

8. Per contra, learned Senior Standing Counsel has vehemently opposed the present writ petitions and has submitted that at this stage, the impugned action of the respondent of reopening of assessment and issuance of the notice under section 142(1) of the Act may not be interfered since the petitioners had ample opportunities to defend