COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. K T KUNJUMON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FOLLOWING are the reasons in support of our order passed on March 1, 2001, dismissing the above writ appeals, in the open court.

(2.) THIS judgment will govern W. A. Nos. 1021 and 1022 of 2000. Two writ petitions came to be disposed of by a common order, they being W. P. Nos. 1424 and 1425 of 1999 (see [1999] 239 ITR 782). In W. P, No. 1425 of 1999, the order passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax, dated November 18, 1998, is challenged and the further direction is sought to the Commissioner of Income-tax to redeposit the sum of Rs. 24,25,810 in the P. D. account of the respondent to the credit of the petitioner for the assessment year 1994-95, while in W. P. No. 1424 of 1999 the order dated January 12, 1999 in C. No. Act No. 0022/KVSS/C1 passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax, Central-I, Chennai, is challenged and the further prayer is for the quashing of the order and for a direction to the Commissioner of Income-tax to admit and accept the declaration filed by the petitioner under the Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme (hereinafter referred to as "the K.V.S. Scheme"). Obviously, the basic challenge was made in W. P. No. 1425 of 1999 because only if the order dated November 18, 1998, challenged in that writ petition was quashed, the petitioner could get the advantage of the KVS Scheme. The facts, as they appear, are in the short sphere.

(3.) IT was then the petitioner preferred an application before the Commissioner of Income-tax, Central-I, Chennai, stating that there were arrears of tax for the assessment years 1993-94 and 1994-95 and that the petitioner intended to avail of the KVS Scheme, 1998, pending disposal of the appeal, for the assessment year 1994-95. The petitioner also had pointed out in that application that he had already requested that the cash seized and the amount appropriated during the search under Section 132 of the Income-tax Act might be appropriated towards the ad hoc payment of tax liability, which would arise out of the proceedings under Section 132 of the Income-tax Act. The petitioner has also requested for suitable directions for giving for the tax paid by him for the block assessment and that it should be treated as the tax paid for the block assessment only and not for any other tax arrears. The order rejecting that petition is the subject-matter of W. P. No. 1425 of 1999, while the rejection of declaration dated November 16, 1998, filed by the petitioner for the KVS Scheme on the ground that there were no arrears of tax for the assessment year 1994-95 is the subject-matter of W. P. No. 1424 of 1999,