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TMI Blog1991 (10) TMI 21X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itioners about the details of the recovery, it was learnt that the Income-tax Officer, 'B' Ward, Bhuj ( State of Gujarat ), has sent revenue recovery certificates to the Tax Recovery Officer, Jamnagar, and he, in turn, forwarded the same to respondent No. 1, the Tax Recovery Officer, Nagpur. The recovery pertained to income-tax dues including interest amounting to Rs. 1,11,428 for the assessment year 1969-70, Rs. 3,824 for the assessment year 1970-71 and wealth-tax dues of Rs. 12,141 for the assessment year 1969-70, all arising out of respective assessments made on the assessee, the late Rajabhai Premji, the father of petitioner No. 1, by the Income-tax Officer, 'B' Ward, Bhuj. A copy of the order for the assessment year 1969-70 is filed on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the income chargeable to tax had escaped the assessment made in respect of the deceased assessee for the year 1969-70. Accordingly, a notice under section 148 of the Income-tax Act was issued to Purshottam, the son of the deceased. No other legal heir was noticed though it is incumbent upon the Income-tax Officer to do so. In response to the notice, a " Nil " return was filed by Purshottam. The Income-tax Officer, Bhuj, assessed the income of the deceased at Rs. 1,44,850 and raised a demand for Rs. 1,19,000. It seems that petitioner No. 1 challenged this order of assessment in appeal and raised various contentions including non-issuance of notice to the other legal heirs. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner, Jamnagar, rejected the contenti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... assessment had become final and conclusive and the petitioners cannot now escape the liability. It seems that the civil application was not even pressed though filed in September, 1985. We also find that the said civil application is also not sworn to by the officer concerned. In these circumstances, it is difficult to take cognizance of the averments made in the said civil application. This does not mean that the respondents are precluded from urging legal points arising in the case. It was submitted on behalf of the respondents that the notice under section 148 served on Purshottam as legal representative of the deceased Rajabhai was on behalf of all the legal representatives and was sufficient to sustain the assessment against the esta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... served, he appears in the proceedings with the consent, express or implied, of the other legal representatives. In such cases also, the assessment would bind the estate. (3) There can be a category of cases where the Income-tax Officer bona fide and diligently believes one or more persons to be the only legal representatives of the deceased and initiates proceedings by serving notices on them and subsequently it is found that besides those served, there were other legal representatives also of the deceased. There is no reason, in such cases, why the general rule as evolved in the field of civil law and well-enunciated in the case of Daya Ram v. Shyam Sundari, AIR 1965 SC 1049, 1054, should not be applied. All the aforesaid principles are ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Income-tax Officer to issue notices to the remaining legal representatives and reassess the escaped income once again. We do not think that the aforesaid decisions relied upon lay down the proposition as urged before us. Even the facts are totally different. The reliance placed on these cases is apparently misconceived. We also cannot accept the contention for the simple reason that reassessment of escaped income cannot be made, when one order of assessment is in existence against the legal representative, Purshottam. It may be relevant to observe here that what is challenged in the petition is the binding effect of the assessment order on the other legal heirs and its consequent effect. By issuing the direction, two assessment orders for t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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