ITEM NO.1 COURT NO.5 SECTION IIIA SUPREME COURT OF INDIA RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS PETITION(S) FOR SPECIAL LEAVE TO APPEAL (C) NO(S). 13968/2015 (ARISING OUT OF IMPUGNED FINAL JUDGMENT AND ORDER DATED 20/03/2015 IN WAMD NO. 98/2010 PASSED BY HIGH COURT OF MADRAS AT MADURAI) NOORUL ISLAM EDUCATIONAL TRUST PETITIONER(S) VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX-I & ORS. RESPONDENT(S) [WITH APPLN.(S) FOR SEEKING PERMISSION TO RAISE ADDITIONAL GROUNDS] Date : 21/10/2016 This petition was called on for hearing today. CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RANJAN GOGOI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE For Petitioner(s) Mr. E. M. S. Anam, Adv. For Respondent(s) Mr. Tushar Mehta, ASG Mr. A.C. Pradhan, Sr. Adv. Ms. Niranjana Singh, Adv. Mr. V. Balaji, Adv. Mrs. Anil Katiyar, Adv. UPON hearing counsel Court made following ORDER Permission to raise additional grounds is granted. Leave granted. appeal is allowed in terms of signed order. [VINOD LAKHINA] [ASHA SONI] COURT MASTER COURT MASTER Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by VINOD LAKHINA Date: 2016.10.24 16:50:23 IST [SIGNED ORDER IS PLACED ON FILE] Reason: 1 IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO.10234 OF 2016 [Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No.13968/2015] NOORUL ISLAM EDUCATIONAL TRUST ...APPELLANT VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX-I & ORS. ...RESPONDENTS ORDER 1. Leave granted. 2. challenge in present appeal is against order of High Court of Madras, Madurai Bench, dated 20th March, 2015 passed in W.A. No.98 of 2010 by which transfer of income-tax/assessment file of appellant from Tamil Nadu to Kerala as made by jurisdictional Commissioner of Income Tax (C.I.T.1, Madurai, Tamil Nadu) has been upheld. 2 3. For purpose of appeal, it will be necessary to note provisions of Section 127(2)(a) of Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short Act ) which is in following terms: Power to transfer cases. 127.(1) ........... (2) Where Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers from whom case is to be transferred and Assessing Officer or Assessing officers to whom case is to be transferred are not subordinate to same Director General or Chief Commissioner or Commissioner.- (a). Where Directors General or Chief Commissioners or Commissioners to whom such Assessing Officers are subordinate are in agreement, then Director General or Chief Commissioner or Commissioner from whose jurisdiction case is to be transferred may, after giving assessee reasonable opportunity of being heard in matter, wherever it is possible to do so, and after recording his reasons for doing so, pass order. 4. As Income-tax/assessment file of appellant assessee has been 3 transferred from one Assessing Officer in Tamil Nadu to another Assessing Officer in Kerala and two Assessing Officers are not subordinate to same Director General or Chief Commissioner or Commissioner of Income Tax, under Section 127(2)(a) of Act agreement between Director General, Chief Commissioner or Commissioner, as case may be, of two jurisdictions is necessary. 5. counter affidavit filed on behalf of Revenue does not disclose that there was any such agreement. In fact, it has been consistently and repeatedly stated in said counter affidavit that there is no disagreement between two Commissioners. Absence of disagreement cannot tantamount to agreement as visualized under Section 127(2)(a) of Act which contemplates positive state of mind of two jurisdictional 4 Commissioners of Income Tax which is conspicuously absent. 6. In above circumstances, we will hold that transfer of Income-tax/assessment file of appellant assessee from Assessing Officer, Tamil Nadu to Assessing Officer, Kerala is not justified and/or authorized under Section 127(2)(a) of Act. order of High Court is, therefore, interfered with and transfer is accordingly set aside. 7. appeal is allowed in above terms. ..........,J. (RANJAN GOGOI) ........,J. (ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE) NEW DELHI OCTOBER 21, 2016 Noorul Islam Educational Trust v. Commissioner of Income-tax-I & Or