COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX Vs. S D SURI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SINCE the questions referred are identical in both the references, our judgment will govern both of them.

(2.) AT the instance of the Revenue, the following question has been referred by the Income -tax Appellate Tribunal, Delhi Bench -A (in short "the Tribunal"), under S. 27(1) of the WEALTH TAX ACT, 1957 (in short "the Act"), for the opinion of this Court :

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the Revenue submitted that the factual position would go to show that some of the legal representatives of the deceased assessee were served with notice and merely because all of them have not been served, it was held by the Tribunal that the WTO lacked jurisdiction in assessing the estate of the deceased. A similar issue under S. 159(2) of the INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, came up for consideration of the apex Court in CIT vs. Jai Prakash Singh (1996) 132 CTR (SC) 22 : (1996) 219 ITR 737 (SC) : TC 44R.313. In that case it was held that in such cases the action was violable and not void. In view of the decision of the apex Court, we answer the question referred in the matter has to be reconsidered by the WTO in the light of the directions given by the first appellate authority. The references are disposed of accordingly.