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TMI Blog1984 (1) TMI 116X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... npura, Gill Road, Ludhiana. For purposes of estate duty, these properties were valued by an approved valuer as per report dt. 20th Oct., 1976. 3. For the asst. yr. 1974-75, the WTO issued a notice u/s 17 on 27th Jan., 1978 and according to him, it was served on 7th Feb., 1978. It has not been specified by him on whom this notice was served. Similarly for the asst. yr. 1975-76, it has been mentioned in the impugned assessment order that notice u/s 17 was issued and served on the same date as per 1974-75. In the assessment orders made for these two years simultaneously on 11th Jan., 1979, the WTO has mentioned in the asst. yr. 1974-75 that in the return of net wealth, liability of debts due have been shown in the name of Miss Dalip kaur and M/s Hazura Singh Co. (HUF). 4. The assessments for the years 1970-71 to 1973-74 have all been completed on 30th Jan., 1980. These assessments are also u/s 17 r/w s. 16(3) of the WT Act. In the asst. yr. 1970-71, the WTO has again noted that he issued a notice u/s 17 in response to which return was filed on 3rd March., 1979. This return was signed by Gurcharan Singh grandson of late Hazura Singh. In the order for this year the WTO has menti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s under appeal were bad in law because there was no valid service on all the legal heirs. The assessments were annulled. Now the grievance of the Revenue is that he erred in doing so. 7. Before we proceed further, we would like to record that at the time of hearing of these appeals, a prayer was made by the ld. sr. Departmental Representative for adjournment of the case. We asked him the reasons for such a prayer made at the last minute. He informed us that the did not have the record of the case despite the fact that he had sent a letter to the concerned WTO on 26th Dec., 1983 and later a telegram for the purpose of the record but records have not come. We checked up that the notice had been received by the Revenue on 3rd Dec., 1983 and the hearing was fixed on 10th Jan., 1984. Therefore, we have found that it was not that sufficient time was not allowed to the Revenue but someone some where had not been acting to do the needful in the matter. Since the parties had been given sufficient time and this request was made in the manner described above, we did not see any reason to accede to the request of the Revenue. It was rejected. 8. The Revenue contended before us in their a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gh Court in the case of Chooharmal Wadhuram (decd) held that where a person dies having than one legal representative, the ITO must proceed to assess the total income to the assessee by serving notice on all the legal representatives. If the notice is served on only one legal representative, there would be no complete representation of the estate and the proceedings will be wholly invalid. In the case of Sajjan Kumar Saraf the Calcutta High Court held that where a return is filed by a legal representative in response to an invalid notice issued to the deceased, but he did not state that there were other legal representatives and heirs of the deceased, the return would not be invalid. However, the assessment should be made only after bringing all the legal representatives on the record. 12. In the case of Jai Prakash Singh the Gauhati High Court held that violation of statutory principles of natural justice, takes away the jurisdiction of the authority concerned to continue with the proceedings and the orders passed therein. The Court has further clarified that if the estate of a deceased assessee is to be assessed to income tax, the estate must be fully represented by impleading ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was has happened in the case before us. 16. the WTO made assessment order for the asst. yrs. 1974-75 and 1975-76 simultaneously on 11th Jan., 1975 u/s 16(3) r/w s. 17 of the WT Act. In the order for the year 1974-75, he observed that, "Sardar Hazura Singh expired on 10th Nov., 1975". From para 3 of this order it becomes clear that he became or was already aware of HUF of Hazura Singh as in the return of net wealth liability of debts due had been shown in the name of HUF of Hazura Singh and Miss Dilip Kaur who was daughter of Hazura Singh. He also mentions in this order that he had referred the valuation to the Departmental valuation officer u/s 16A of the WT Act, 1957. in this order he also mentions that notice u/s 17 was issued on 27th Jan., 1978 and served on 7th July, 1978. Thus he neither clarified as to whom the notice was issued nor the person on whom it was served. But he does know and in fact mentions that the return has been filed by Hazura Singh's grandson Gurcharan Singh. This fact that return was filed by grandson of Hazura Singh should have made the WTO to sit up for an enquiry as to what happened to intermediary generation and wife of Hazura Singh, if any surviving ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y into the focus of the AAC when he made observations in para 6 of his impugned order that no diligent enquiries had been made by WTO as all the legal heirs were staying at the same address i. e. 1 Atam Nagar, Ludhiana and only a little effort could have made the position clear that there were at least four legal heirs of late Hazura Singh. Now these observations are clearly pointing to the state affairs which the AAC himself examined and came to give a finding of fact. If this was not true, we do not see any reason why the Revenue could not make a grievance of it in one of the grounds of appeal. 21. Not only this, the WTO has not filed a single paper if there was any to show that these observations of the AAC are unwarranted. On the other hand, we find that in view of what we have stated above, these observations are justified. Hence the well settled law as pointed out above by the Supreme Court and the High Courts clearly applies to the facts of the case to make the assessments and the proceedings taken by the WTO in each of the assessment years a nullity. the AAC was fully justified in holding them so. His orders are, therefore, confirmed. 22. Before we close, we would lik ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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