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Issues:
1. Jurisdiction of the Income-tax Officer to cancel the assessment order and re-open the assessment proceedings after the appeal was disposed of by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. 2. Entitlement of the petitioners to withdraw the application under section 146 of the Income-tax Act. Analysis: 1. The petitioners sought a writ to quash an order by the Income-tax Officer canceling the assessment order and re-opening the assessment proceedings after the appeal was partially allowed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The petitioners argued that since the appeal decision covered all aspects of the assessment, the assessment order had merged with the appellate order. The Court agreed, stating that once the appeal decision was made on the merits, the assessment order was superseded, and the Income-tax Officer had no jurisdiction to cancel it. The Court emphasized that the appellate order constituted the assessment of the petitioners' income, leaving no room for the Income-tax Officer to reassess. 2. The respondents contended that the petitioners could not withdraw their application under section 146 of the Act. However, the Court clarified that the application became infructuous once the assessment order was set aside by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Court held that an application can only be withdrawn if it is still live and can be decided upon. In this case, since the assessment order was superseded, the application automatically became irrelevant. The Court distinguished previous rulings cited by the respondents, emphasizing that in this instance, the entire assessment made by the Income-tax Officer was superseded by the appellate order. In conclusion, the Court allowed the writ petition, quashed the Income-tax Officer's order, and the subsequent proceedings. The petitioners were awarded costs amounting to Rs. 100.
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