AJAY GANDHI Vs. B SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Income-tax Act was first introduced in the country in the year 1922. The said Act was repealed and replaced with the 1961 Act (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity the said Act). Section 5-A of the 1922 Act was in pari materia with sub-sections (1) to (3) of S. 252 as it originally stood. The provision of appeals to the Appellate Tribunal as contained in Chapter XX thereof came into being in the year 1941. Section 252 of the Act mandates the Central Government to constitute an Appellate Tribunal consisting of as many judicial and accountant members as it thinks fit to exercise the powers and discharge the functions conferred on the Appellate Tribunal. The said provision lays down the qualification of a judicial member and an accountant member. The President of the Tribunal is to be appointed ordinarily from the judicial member of the Tribunal. The Central Government is also authorised to appoint one or more members of the Appellate Tribunal as Vice-President and in the event there are more than one Vice-Presidents, it may appoint a Senior Vice-President. The Senior Vice-President of a Vice-President may be delegated by the President such functions of the President as may be delegated to him by a general or special order in writing.

(2.) Several notifications have been issued whereby and whereunder the President, Income-tax Appellate Tribunal delegated the powers to Vice-Presidents.

(3.) Sub-section (1) of S. 255 provides that powers and functions of the Appellate Tribunal may be exercised and discharged by Benches constituted by the President of the Appellate Tribunal from amongst the members thereof. Sub-section (5) of S. 255 reads thus :