DAVENDRA PAL SINGH Vs. COMMISSIONER OF WEALTH TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two petitions under article 226 of the Constitution of India have been preferred by Davendra Pal Singh, an assessee, under the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), and pertain to the assessment years 1990-91 and 1991-92, respectively. The petitioner challenges orders dated January 31, 1995, whereby penalty under Section 18(1)(c) of the Act has been levied for the two years, a common order dated October 10, 1994, passed by the Commissioner of Wealth-tax, Meerut, whereby the petitioner's revision petitions against the assessment orders moved under Section 25 of the Act have been partly allowed, and, the assessment orders dated March 29, 1994, for the two years, respectively. The petitioner further prays that a writ of mandamus be issued to the Commissioner of Wealth-tax, Meerut, to declare the land as agricultural land and directing the Assessing Officer, i.e., the Assistant Commissioner of Wealth-tax, Bulandshahr, not to proceed with the recovery of the demands created.

(2.) THE petitioner is a wealth-tax assessee and was the owner of the agricultural lands bearing khasra numbers 509, 510, 513, 514, 515, 538, 539 and 540 situate in village Bhoor district Bulandshahr and measuring 23 bighas, 16 biswas pucca, i.e., 71,968 square yards or 60,650 square meters. Up to the assessment year 1988-89, this land was treated as agricultural land and was treated to be exempt from wealth-tax having been excluded from the definition of "asset" by Section 2(e)(2)(i)(a) of the Act and the dispute in these writ petitions is whether on the relevant valuation dates, i.e., March 31, 1990, and March 31, 1991, this land ceased to be agricultural land and became an asset as held by the Assessing Officer and the Commissioner.

(3.) AGAINST the assessment orders, the petitioner preferred appeals to the Commissioner of Wealth-tax (Appeals) but for reasons best known to him the petitioner withdrew the appeals which were dismissed as such by the Commissioner of Wealth-tax (Appeals) vide order dated September 28, 1994, a copy of which is annexure 13 in Writ Petition No. 330 of 1995. Though this order does not state the reasons for the withdrawal of the appeals, in the petition it is stated that the petitioner withdrew these appeals as the petitioner preferred to file revision petitions before the Commissioner (see paragraph 18). By the impugned order dated October 10, 1994, the Commissioner dismissed the revision petitions in so far as the character of the land and its valuation was concerned.