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TMI Blog2019 (10) TMI 38X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ibunal and the assessment against the revisionist was upheld. The order of the Commercial Tax Tribunal dated 26th June, 2012 is set aside - The matters are remanded to the Commercial Tax Tribunal for hearing them afresh by a Bench of which Sri V.K. Singh is not a member - revision allowed by way of remand. - Trade Tax Revision No. - 169 of 2012, 170 of 2012 - - - Dated:- 12-9-2019 - Alok Mathur, J. For the Revisionist : Pradeep Agrawal For the Opposite Party : C.S.C. ORDER ALOK MATHUR, J. 1. Heard Sri Pradeep Agrawal, learned counsel for the revisionist as well as Sri Rohit Nandan Shukla, learned counsel appearing for the Revenue. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... #39;, inasmuch as the learned Member of the Tribunal Mr. V.K. Singh was the Joint Commissioner (Executive), Faizabad, and had himself passed the order dated 08.06.2019 in exercise of power under Section 10-B of the Act. It has further been submitted that the present proceedings are outcome of the said order dated 08.06.2019, aggrieved by which the revisionist had first filed a First Appeal and subsequently approached the Tribunal. 7. In sum and substance, learned counsel for the revisionist submits that same individual who passed the order dated 08.06.2019, sat in appeal over the same order, in gross violation of principles of natural justice. 8. It is submitted that Sri V.K. Singh, Member, Commercial Tax T ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y who passed the order under Section 10(b) of the Trade Tax Act and subsequently, while sitting as Member, Commercial Tax Tribunal was judging the proceedings in which he has passed the order. As Member of the Commercial Tax Tribunal he must have noticed that at the relevant time when he was Joint Commissioner (Executive), Commercial Tax, Faizabad and he shall have recused himself. The Apex Court in A.U. Kureshi (supra) held as under : 10. It is an accepted principal of natural justice that a person should not be a judge in his or her own cause. In common law, this principle has been derived from the Latin maxim - 'nemo debet esse judex in propria sua causa'. A reasonable permutation of this principle is that no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... bserved: Every member of a tribunal that sits to try issues in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings must be able to act judicially; and the essence of judicial decisions and judicial administration is that judges should be able to act impartially, objectively and without any bias. In such cases the test is not whether in fact a bias has affected the judgment; the test always is and must be whether a litigant could reasonably apprehend that a bias attributable to a member of the tribunal might have operated against him in the final decision of the tribunal. It is in this sense that it is often said that justice must not only be done but must also appear to be done. 63. In A.K. Kraipak v. Union of Ind ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iding the question of bias we have to take into consideration human probabilities and ordinary course of human conduct. 15. Considering the ratio of the above judgments, Mr. V.K. Singh, himself while sitting as Member of Commercial Tax Tribunal, was adjudicating on his own earlier order passed by him in the capacity of Joint Commissioner (Executive), Faizabad, which is clearly impermissible. 16. In the light of the above, the order of the Commercial Tax Tribunal dated 26th June, 2012 is set aside. The matters are remanded to the Commercial Tax Tribunal for hearing them afresh by a Bench of which Sri V.K. Singh is not a member. 17. Let the entire exercise, as directed above be comp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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