2009 (1) TMI 49 - HC - Income Tax

Representative of party withdraws from the case without informing the party power of tribunal - if the representative of a party or a counsel for the party withdraws from the case without informing the assessee or the appellant or a party whom he represents then the court ordinarily should not proceed to decide the matter on the merits - Tribunal was unjustified in proceeding ex parte in the matter tribunal should ordinarily recall the order

Summary

The High Court of Madhya Pradesh, consisting of Judges R. S. Garg and U. C. Maheshwari, heard an appeal concerning the actions of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal had proceeded ex parte in the matter and rejected the appellant's application for a bi-partite hearing after the appellant's representative withdrew from the case without informing the assessee. The Court found that the Tribunal's decision was unjustified and erred in rejecting the appellant's application under section 254(2) of the Income-tax Act. As a result, the Court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders from June 20, 2008, and December 20, 2007, and directed the appellant to appear before the Tribunal for a new hearing. The Court emphasized that when a representative withdraws from a case without informing the party, the court should not proceed to decide the matter on the merits. The Tribunal was instructed to fix a new hearing date promptly and decide the matter accordingly. The judgment was made on January 27, 2009.