COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX Vs. MANOHAR LAL NAGPAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHRI Daulat Ram Nagpal filed his return of income on October 13, 1971, for the assessment year 1970-71. The assessment proceedings were initiated by the ITO. By the said time, the aforementioned assessee had passed away. Notices were issued to his legal representatives who appeared before the ITO. The ITO, instead of acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Section 159 of the I. T. Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as " the Act "), framed an assessment against the deceased assessee. The legal representatives of the deceased assessee filed an appeal before the AAC which was dismissed. They then filed a second appeal before the I. T. Appellate Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench (hereinafter referred to as " the Tribunal" ). The Tribunal disposed of the appeal on a preliminary point raised on behalf of the legal representatives of Daulat Ram, the deceased, that the assessment having been framed against a dead person was non est in the eye of law.

(2.) THE Commissioner then applied to the Tribunal that the following two questions of law be referred to this court for its opinion :

(3.) AFTER hearing the learned counsel for the parties, we are of the view that the decision rendered by the Tribunal regarding the second question is unexceptionable. The order passed by the Tribunal does not show that any argument based on Section 159 of the Act was ever raised before it. When a point is not raised before the Tribunal and the latter does not discuss the same in its judgment, it cannot be said that a point of law arose out of the order of the Tribunal on that matter.