GOWTHAMAN S. Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Assailing the order dtd. 27/10/2025 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P.No.39793 of 2025, the unsuccessful writ petitioner has filed this writ appeal.

(2.) The appellant, by way of the writ petition, challenged the order dtd. 31/3/2024 passed under Sec. 148A(d) of the Income Tax Act, 1961; the Assessment Order dtd. 17/2/2025; and the notice of demand dtd. 17/2/2025 issued under Sec. 156 of the Act, mainly on the ground that the same have been passed and issued against a person, who died on 4/1/2024.

(3.) The learned Single Judge, vide the order impugned dtd. 27/10/2025, held that the mandate of Sec. 159(1) of the Act makes it clear that when a person dies, his legal representative is liable to pay any sum which the deceased would have been liable to pay if he had not died, in the like manner and to the same extent as the deceased and, therefore, it is not open for the appellant to plead that the assessment proceedings were initiated after the death of the deceased on 04/1/2024, without notice to the appellant or other legal representatives, as there are no records to indicate that after the assessee died on 4/1/2024, the appellant took steps to inform the department about the death of the deceased assessee. The learned Single Judge, though rejected the challenge to the jurisdiction of the respondents to issue the proceedings impugned in the writ petition, quashed the same and remitted the matter to the first respondent to pass fresh order on merits after affording an opportunity to the appellant to explain his case.