DEEPAK CHHABRA Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AGGRIEVED by an order passed by the CIT(A), the Revenue preferred an appeal before the Tribunal. During the pendency Tribunal pointing out that the assessee had passed away leaving behind two legal representatives namely, Shri Deepak Chhabra, his son and Dr. Smt. Sheetal Jhamb, his daughter. The application went to the extent of making a prayer for substitution of Shri Deepak Chhabra in place of the deceased assessee, relying upon a similar order passed by the Tribunal in the wealth -tax appeals for the asst. yr. 1989 -90. The Tribunal, however, did not advert to this application nor did it make any order of substitution of the LRs of the deceased assessee. By the order impugned in this appeal before us, the Tribunal eventually allowed the Revenue's appeal and set aside the order passed by the CIT(A). Income -tax Appeal No. 201 of 2005 is directed against the said order of the Tribunal.

(2.) SHRI Deepak Chhabra, one of the legal heirs of the deceased assessee then filed an application under s. 254(2) of the Act for rectification of the order passed by the Tribunal. That application, it is significant to note, did not point out the omission of the Tribunal in making a proper order of substitution of the legal representatives. The Tribunal, all the same, dismissed the application, as it did not find any error apparent on the face of record. Income -tax Appeal No. 476 of 2005 is directed against the said order.

(3.) APPEARING for the appellant in the appeals mentioned above, Mr. Manjani submitted that the Tribunal had committed a palpable error in ignoring the fact that the assessee had passed away during the pendency of the appeal and that no steps had been taken by the appellant -Revenue and no order for substitution was passed by the Tribunal. He contended that the order passed by the Tribunal being against a dead person was a nullity in the eye of law. He placed reliance upon the decision of this Court in R.C. Jain through LR vs. CIT & Ors. (2004) 190 CTR (Del) 34 : (2005) 273 ITR 384 (Del) in support of that submission.