IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Reserved on 1^st August, 2025 Date of Decision: 4^th September, 2025 PAWAN KUMAR GOEL AND ANOTHER .…...Petitioner(s)

V/s.

PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER INCOME TAX, PANCHKULA AND OTHERS …....Respondent(s)

2. CWP-5238-2022 (O&M) PAWAN KUMAR GOEL .…...Petitioner(s)

V/s.

PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER INCOME TAX, PANCHKULA AND OTHERS …....Respondent(s)

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHWANI KUMAR MISHRA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KULDEEP TIWARI ARGUED BY :-

Ms. Munisha Gandhi, Senior Advocate, assisted by Mr. Himanshu Arora, Advocate and Ms. Selena Chalana, Advocate for the petitioners-Assessee.

Mr. Vaibhav Gupta, Standing Counsel and Mr. Vidul Kapoor, Standing Counsel, for the respondent-Income Tax Department.

******

ASHWANI KUMAR MISHRA, J.

1. These two petitions are connected and have been heard together. They are, thus, being decided by this composite judgment. For the sake of convenience, the facts are being extracted from CWP-9194-2021 and is taken as the lead case.

2. Petitioner-Pawan Kumar Goel is a resident of Panchkula and is running his business in the name and style of M/s. Chemical Resources, S.C.O. No.76, Swastik Vihar, NMDC, Sector-5, Panchkula. Survey action was initiated against petitioner by the Income Tax Department under Section 133-A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to “the Act of 1961”). It was subsequently converted into search and seizure operations under Section 132 of the Act of 1961 at the residence/office and business premises of the petitioner from 06.09.2016 to 08.09.2016. Writ Petition i.e. CWP-8261-2017 titled as Pawan Kumar Goel Vs. Union of India and others came to be filed by petitioner challenging such conversion of survey into search and seizure.

3. The Court noticed that petitioner had cooperated with the Income Tax Department during survey action and had voluntarily disclosed existence of cash to the tune of `2,09,89,090/- in his safe and keys were handed over to the officials of the Income Tax Department with an explanation that such amount of cash was received by way of advance in a business transaction. The Court further noticed that the summons issued to petitioner was vague and therefore, the decision to convert survey into search and seizure was violative of the procedure contemplated in law, inasmuch as no satisfaction was recorded either with regard to non- cooperation of petitioner or that any bonafide suspicion had arisen that income had been concealed by petitioner. The Court consequently allowed the Writ Petition in the following terms on 22.05.2019:

“For the reasons above, we have no hesitation to conclude that the present petition deserves to succeed. The impugned action of the respondents is quashed. The consequential benefits would flow to the petitioner forthwith.

Ordered accordingly.”

(emphasis supplied by us)

4. The Division Bench’s judgment dated 22.05.2019, has attained finality with dismissal of department’s appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

5. The present Writ Petition has been instituted challenging the notice dated 30.03.2021 issued under Section 142 (1) of the Act of 1961 as well as notice dated 31.03.2021, issued under Section 148 of the Act of 1961 issued by the DCIT/ACIT(Cen)-2, Chandigarh, on the ground that it is in derogation of the judgment of this Court rendered in CWP-8261-2017. A further prayer is made to restrain the respondents from initiating any further proceedings under the garb of aforesaid notices dated 30.03.2021 and 31.03.2021.

6. In the connected Writ Petition i.e. CWP-5238-2022, the petitioner has assailed notice dated 07.03.2022 issued to him for the assessment years 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 under Section 142 of the Act of 1961 also on the ground of it being in teeth of the judgment rendered by this Court in petitioner’s earlier Writ Petition i.e. CWP-8261-2017. A prayer is also made to restrain the respondents from proceeding any further pursuant to the such proceedings.

7. Petitioner submits that this Court, in CW