Raj Sheela Growth Fund Pvt Ltd vs. Income Tax Officer, Ward 21(1), Delhi
Background
A companion matter to an earlier petition involving the same petitioner and the same respondent officer, but concerning a different assessment order dated 28.12.2018 (Assessment Year 2016-17). The petitioner's statutory appeal against this order had been pending before the CIT(A) since 07.02.2019, and the petitioner again relied on the 2024 High Court judgment in its own case holding this officer lacked jurisdiction.
Decision Breakdown
For identical reasons as in the companion petition, the Court declined to exercise writ jurisdiction given the pending statutory appeal, but directed the CIT(A) to decide the appeal within two months once the petitioner files a certified copy of this order with an early-hearing application, again without commenting on the merits of the jurisdictional contention.
Lesson Learnt
Where a litigant has multiple pending assessments raising the same jurisdictional objection, courts may handle each writ petition identically but leave the substantive question to the appellate authority rather than deciding it themselves.