1962 (2) TMI 9 - SC - Income Tax

Summary

Issues:
- Appeal against the order of the Tribunal under section 33(4) of the Indian Income-tax Act after the High Court's dismissal of applications under section 66(2).
- Power of the Supreme Court to consider appeals against the Tribunal's order when the High Court's order is not appealed.
- Distinction between cases where no appeal is filed against the High Court's order and cases where appeals are filed against both the High Court and the Tribunal.

Analysis:
The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether it had the power to consider appeals against the order of the Tribunal when the High Court's order was not appealed. The counsel for the assessees argued that the principle established in a previous case was not applicable in the current scenario where appeals were filed against both the High Court and the Tribunal. However, the Court found no distinction in principle between cases where no appeal was filed against the High Court's order and cases where appeals were filed against both the High Court and the Tribunal. The Court emphasized that no special or exceptional circumstances were presented in the case to warrant a departure from the established rule.

The Court further discussed the limitations on its jurisdiction under article 136, highlighting that it typically does not reevaluate the evidence on which the lower court or Tribunal based its decision. The legislature has entrusted the power of evidence appraisal to the taxing authorities, and their decision is generally considered final. The Court clarified that while it has the authority to review evidence in exceptional cases in the interest of justice, the current case did not present any such circumstances. Therefore, the Appeals filed by the assessees and the Commissioner against the Tribunal's order were dismissed for failing to establish a case for calling for a statement of the case from the Tribunal.

In conclusion, the Supreme Court dismissed the Appeals filed by the assessees and the Commissioner against the order of the Tribunal, emphasizing the importance of adhering to established legal principles and the limited circumstances under which the Court would reevaluate evidence. The Court's decision underscored the need for exceptional circumstances to warrant a departure from the general rule of not interfering with the decisions of the taxing authorities unless necessary in the interest of justice.