Holding

The President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal alone holds the statutory power to transfer and post its members; the Central Government cannot usurp this power, subject to the Court‑prescribed guidelines.

Summary

The petition challenged a Ministry of Finance order that required the President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) to obtain prior approval for all postings and transfers of its judicial and accountant members. The Court examined whether the Central Government, under the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, 1958, could exercise such control, or whether the President’s power under Sections 252, 254 and 255 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, was exclusive. It held that the President of the ITAT possesses the statutory authority to transfer and post members, and that the Central Government cannot usurp this power merely on administrative grounds. However, to safeguard the Tribunal’s independence, the Court laid down specific guidelines governing initial postings, transfers, and the need for consultation with senior Vice‑Presidents. The petition was dismissed and the transferred cases were allowed on the stipulated terms.

Issues considered

The Central Government’s power, under the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, to require prior approval for postings and transfers of ITAT members.
Whether the President of the ITAT has inherent authority to transfer and post members under Sections 252, 254 and 255 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Whether the power of transfer is an ancillary administrative function of the President or a statutory power exercisable by the Central Government.
The need for guidelines to limit the President’s discretion in exercising transfer powers.

Legislation cited

Income Tax Act, 1961s. 252, s. 254, s. 255

Subjects

Income Tax Appellate TribunalTransfer of membersPosting of membersAdministrative controlTribunal independenceDelegation of powersSection 255Central GovernmentJudicial autonomyGuidelines

Judgment

A AJAY GANDHI AND ANR.
v.
B. SINGH AND ORS

JANUARY 5, 2004

B [V. N. KHARE, CJ AND S.B. SINHA, J.]

Income Tax Act, 1961-Sections 252, 254 and 255-Delegation of
Financial Powers Rules, 1958-Rule I-Income Tax Appellate Tribunal-
C President exercising powers of transfer of judicial and accountant members
to places where different Benches functioning since its inception-Finance
Ministry directing seeking of prior approval of Ministry for postings and
transfers of members-Validity of-Held: Since independence of Tribunal is
essential this long standing practice should prevail-More so, when Central
Government opines that power of transfer and posting is part ofadministrative
D function of President as ancillary power of consti/lltion of benches-However,
President cannot have unguided, unfettered and unlimited jurisdiction as same
may be flawed with grave consequences, thus, to follow guidelines issued--
Also, President to consult senior Vice-President in such matters.

President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (IT AT) has been
E exercising the power of transfer of judicial and accountant members to
places where different Benches are functioning, since its inception. After
a long period, Finance Ministry in exercise of its powers under Rule 10 of
Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, 1958 read with office memorandum
and in partial modification of the department letter, directed the President,
F ITAT to submit all proposals for postings and transfers of members
including Senior Vice~President and Vice-Presidents of ITAT to the
Ministry for prior approval.
j

Before this Court, it was contended that as there are 48 Benches of
the Tribunal and having regard to the provisions contained in sub-section.
G (1) of Section 255 read with sub-section (5) of the Income Tax Act, 1961
thereof, the President is to constitute Benches; that by necessary
implications, President alone had the power to transfer the members
thereof; and that as the President of the Tribunal had been exercising the
said power since the inception of the Tribunal, no interference therewith
·"' (
was called for.
H 164
AJAY GANDHI v. B. SINGH 165
Respondent contended that the Central Government has the A
necessary administrative control over the Tribunal having regard to the
power to constitute the same; that the power of appointment of a member
of the Tribunal would include a power of his transfer and posting; and
that such a power of the Central Government is implicit from the scheme
of the Act.
B
Allowing the Transferred Cases, the Court

HELD: 1.1. The Central Government admittedly never exercised its
purported power of transfer and posting in its capacity as an employer
or otherwise. Even from the impugned order the source of power had not C
been traced from the provisions of the Income Tax Act but to the
Delegaiion of Financial Powers which have no nexus therewith. By reason
of amendment to certain circular letters also, the Central Government
cannot confer upon it such statutory power of transfer and posting of the
members of the Appellate Tribunal. Furthermore, ha\'ing regard to the
fact that Central Government had acted sub silentio and even allowed the D
President to delegate his power to constitute benches to various Senior
Vice-Presidents over a number of years is itself a pointer to the fact that
the Central Government was also of the opinion that the power of transfer
and posting is a part of the administrative function of the President as an
ancillary power of constitution of benches. 1173-F-G-H; 174-A)
E
1.2. The independence of the Tribunal is essential; for maintaining
its independence any power which may be conferred upon the executive
authority must be proved to be in the interest of imparting justice. This
long standing practice should be allowed to prevail over the impugned
order. However, by reason thereof, the President cannot be said to have F
an unguided, unfettered and unlimited jurisdiction as the same may be
flawed with great consequences. Therefore, certain guidelines have to be
followed as under:

(i) Initial posting of a member. shall be done by the Government in
consultation with the President of ITAT. Postings to different benches shall G
be done by the President having regard ordinarily to the following:

(a) A member save and except for sufficient and cogent reasons
shall not be posted at a place where he had earlier been
practising as an advocate or a Chartered Accountant, as the
case may be. I-I
166 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2004] I S.C.R.

A (b) A member may not be posted· at a place where any of his ,..,
parents, spouse or other close relation is practising as an
Advocate or a Chartered Accountant in taxation matters.

(c) Save and except for sufficient and cogent reasons, the Member
shall not be posted at a place of a period exceeding five years.
B Ordinarily, a Member may not be posted at a place where he
was earlier posted unless a period of two years has elapsed.

(d) The President shall keep the Government informed about the l
orders of posting. The Government, if it so thinks fit, shall have
the liberty to bring to the notice of the President, ITAT
c relevant facts including that transfer and posting of a member
is not in conformity with the aforementioned guidelines. It
shall also be at liberty to bring to the notice of the President
any case of extreme hardship which may be faced by a
member by reason of such an order of transfer and posting.
D
(e) The Government shall have further liberty to request the
President to transfer a member from a particular bench when r
it is in public interest or in an exceptional circumstances. The
President, ITAT, shall consider the same in proper perspective.
.....
If the President refuses to comply with the request of the
E Central Government, although the transfer is in public interest
in such cases it would be open to the Central Government to
pass order of transfer. (174-B-H; 175-A-BI

1.3. The President must consult the two senior Vice-Presidents by
forming a collegium therefor. Although it may not be necessary but the
F President, in all fairness, should consult two Senior Vice-Presidents before
passing such orders of transfer and posting in view of the fact that the
large number of members are functioning at different places and thus, the
..
advice of the senior Vice-Presidents as regard the functioning of a ·'
particular member including his efficiency, disposal and other relevant
G factors which the President may not be aware of may be considered by
the President in ultimately passing such orders. 1175-D-EI

Udhavdas Kewalram v. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bombay City I,
119671 66 ITR 462; Income Tax Appellate Tribunal v. Deputy Commissioner .,,..- (

of Income-Tax (Assessments) and Ors., (19661 218 ITR 275 and New India
H Assurance Co. ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Excess Profits Tax,
AJAY GANDHI v. B. SINGH [V. N. KHARE, CJ.] 167

" Bombay City, (1967( 31 ITR 844, relied on. A
Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Ltd v. Collector of Central Excise, AIR
(1991( SC 1028; Keshavji Ravji and Co. v. Commissioner of Income Tax, AIR
(1991) SC 1806; Raymand Synthetics LtJ. v. Union of India, AIR (1992) SC
847; Kasilingam v. P.S.G. College of Technology, (1995) 2 SCALE 387 and
Collector of Central Excise, Vadodra v. Dhiren Chemical Industries, (2002) B
2 sec 127' referred to.

R. v. Wandsworth London Borough Council, Ex parte Beckwith, (1996)
1 All E.R. 129, referred to.

Corpus juris secondum, Volume 82, p. 761; Statutory Interpretation c
by Francis Bennion, Fourth Edition, p. 596, referred to.

CIVIL ORIGINAL mRISDICTION : Transferred Case (C) No. 5 of
1997.

D

-
WITH
...
T.C. No. 6 of 1997.
~
Raju Ramachandran, Additional Soliciior General, S. Ganesh, Buddy
A. Ranganandhan, A.V. Rangam, J.B. Dadachanji, Rajiv Nanda, C.V. S. Rao,
P. Parmeswaran, P.H. Parekh, B.V. Joshi and Rajiv K. Garg for A.D.N. Rao E
for the appearing parties.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

V. N. KHARE, CJ. The Income Tax Act was first introduced in the
country in the year 1922. The said Act was repealed and replaced with the F
j. 1961 Act (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity the said
Act). Section 5A of the 1922 Act was in pari materia with sub-sections (I)
>
to (3) of Section 252 as it originally stood. The provision of appeals to the
Appellate Tribunal as contained in Chapter XX thereof came into beiog in
the year 1941. Section 252 of the Act mandates the Central Government to·
G
constitute an Appellate Tribunal consisting of~ many judicial and accountant
members as it thinks fit to exercise the powers and discharge the fonctions
I
conferred on the Appellate Tribunal. The said provision lays down the
-..,
qualification of a judicial member and an accountant member. The President
of the Tribunal is to be appointed ordinarily from the judicial member of the
Tribunal. The Central Government is also authorised to appoint one or more H
'
168 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004) I S.C.R.

A members of the Appellate Tribunal as Vice-President and in the event there
are more than one Vice-Presidents, it may appoint a Senior Vice-President.
The Senior Vice-President or a Vice-President may be delegated by the
President such functions of the President as may be delegated to him by a
general or special order in writing.

B Several notifications have been issued whereby and whereunder the
President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal delegated the powers to Vice-
Presidents. J
Sub-section (I) of Section 255 provides that powers and functions of
C the Appellate Tribunal !Tiay be exercised and discharged by Benches constituted
by the President of the Appellate Tribunal from amongst the members thereof.
Sub-section (5) of Section 255 reads thus :

"Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Appellate Tribunal
shall have power to regulate its own procedure and the procedure of
Benches thereof in all matters arising out of the exercise of its powers
D
or of the discharge of its functions, including the places at which the
Benches shall hold their sittings."

The Tribunal is functioning since 21.5.1941. From its very incept_ion,
the President of the Tribunal has been exercising the power of transfer of the
E judicial members and the accountant members to the places where different
Benches are timctioning. The second respondent herein, however, in purported
exercise of its power under Rule IO of the Delegation of Financial Powers
Rules, 1958 read with the Ministry of Finance O.M. No.F. I 0(13) B-Coord/
79 dated 10.4.1975 and 8.3.1976 and in partial modification of the Department
letter No. F.3(18)/75 Admn. III(LA) dated 26.6.1978 directed the President
F of India had been pleased to decide that President, I.T.A.T. shall thenceforth
submit all proposals for postings and transfers of members including Senior
Vice-President and Vice-Presidents of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal to •
the Ministry for prior approval. It was further stated :

"The President, ITAT shall issue orders regarding posting and
G transfer of the members after approval of the Ministry indicating
therein that they have been issued after approval of the competent
authority. A copy of all such orders shall invariably be endorsed to
the Ministry.

The President of India is further pleased to decide that the Ministry
H
'· AJAY GANDHI v. 13. SINGH [V. N. KHARE, CJ.] 169

may also issue orders of posting and transfers of Members when A
considered necessary."

Questioning the validity of the said order, the Appellant herein has
filed this writ petition claiming, inter alia, for the following reliefs.:

"In this circumstances, the petitioners pray this Hon'ble Court B
may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, direction or order declaring
that the impugned order contained in letter No.F.No.A.60011(54)/96-
\ Admn.lll(LA) dated 15.11.96, copy whereof is Ex. 'A' to the petition
and the impug,ned order passed by the Hon 'hie President of India
referred to therein is without jurisdiction and is liable to be treated as
non-est for all purposes and pass such other order(s) as may be deemed c
tit and proper."

The records of the proceedings shows that the efforts were made to the
effect that the parties to mTive at a consensus as regard the extent of the
power as also the guidelines therefor so as to enable the President to discharge
the said fun-:tions. The Union of India in an affidavit filed on 16.2.2001, D
suggested the following guidelines :
•
? "I. Upon appointment of a Member, his initial posting will be done
by the Government in consultation with the President, ITA T having
regard to the following :-
E
(i) A Member shall not be given initial posting at a place where he
. was earlier practicing as an Advocate or Chartered Accountant
in taxation matters as the case may be;
(ii) A Member shall not be posted nt a place where his spouse, son,
daughter, grandson or granddaughter is practicing either as an F
Advocate or Chartered Accountant in taxation matters.
~-

} 2. The tramsfers shall be made by the Government on the advice of
the Presid·ent, IT AT ordinaril} having regard to the following
guidelines :
G
(i) A Member shall not be posted at a place for a period exceeding
five years;

--.. (ii) A Member shall not be posted at a place where his spouse, son,
daughter, grandson or granddaughter is practicing as an Advocate
or Chartered Accountant in taxation matters;
H
170 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] I S.C.R.

A (iii) A Member shall not be posted at a place where he has earlier
served as a Member unless he has cooled off for a period of two
years.
3. Advice of the President, ITAT shall have primacy unless it is
against any of the guidelines or results in any hardship."
B
The writ petitioners, however, did not agree thereto and their suggestions,
in terms are in the following terms :

"I. Initial posting of a member shall be done by the Government in
1
consultation with the President ITAT.
C II. Postings to different benches shall be by the President having
regard ordinarily to the following :
(i) A member may not be given initial posting at a place where
he was earlier practicing as an Advocate or a Cha1tered
Accountant as the case may be.
D
(ii) A member may not be posted at a place where any of his
parents, spouse, son, daughter or other close relation is •
practicing as an Advocate or a Chartered Accountant in
taxation matters.

E (iii) A member may not be posted at a place for a period
exceeding 5 years.

(iv) A member may not be posted at a place where he was earlier
posted unless a period of two years has elapsed.
(III) The Government shall have the liberty to bring to the notice of
F the President, ITA T relevant facts requiring the transfer of a
member from a particular bench in public interest." ·-
•
The learned counsel for the parties have addressed us at length as
ultimately no consensus could be arrived at. The submissions of the learned
G counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners are : (I) Having regard to the
fact that there are 48 Benches of the Tribunal and having regard to the
provisions contained in sub-section (I) of Section 255 read with sub-section
(5) thereot~ the President is to constitute Benches, by necessary implications,
it must be held that he alone had the power to transfer the members thereof;
(2) As the President of Tribunal had been exercising the said power since the
H inception of the Tribunal, no interference therewith at the hands of respondent
AJAY GANDHI v. B. SINGH [V. N. KHARE, CJ.] 171
..... was called for. A
The Appellate Tribunal constituted under the Act is not an income-tax
authority. It is the ultimate fact finding authority under the Act and only a
reference to the High Court or this Court on a question of law from its orders
can be made. (See Udhavdas Kewalram v. Commissioner of Income-Tax,
Bon;bay City I. (1967) 66 ITR 462) The President in the matter of constitution B
of benches exercises his both judicial and administrative powers. While the
\ President exercises administrative jurisdiction even no writ petition would be
maintainable there against. (See Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal v. Deputy
Commissioner of Income-Tax (Assessments) and Ors., (I 996) 218 ITR 275).
The position of the appellate tribunal is the same as of Court of Appeal under
the Civil Procedure Code and its powers are identical with the powers enjoyed
c
by the appellate court thereunder. (See New India life Assurance Co. ltd. v.
Commissioner of Income-Tax, Excess Profits Tax, Bombay City, (1957) 31
ITR 844. In any event, the Central Government cannot usurp the power of
the President in purported exercise of its functions under the delegation of
the financial rules which were issued only for certain purposes. D
The submission of the respondent on the other hand are : (I) The
y> Central Government has the necessary administrative control over the Tribunal
having regard to the power to constitute the same; (2) The power of
appointment of a member of the Tribunal would include a power of his
transfer and posting; (3) Such a power of the Central Government is implicit E
from the scheme of the Act.

There are a large number of instances where such a power of the
President has been misused and having regard thereto, the impugned decisions
had been taken.
F
~
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal exercises judicial functions and
~ has trapping of Court.

It may be true that the Tribunal functions under the Ministry of Law
and Justice and the Law Secretary is the member of the Selection· Board. The
G
Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, it is accepted,
exercises a disciplinary power over the members of the Tribunal. The
) Allocation of Business Rules of the Government of India in respect of the
°'"!·
Tribunal is placed under the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law
and Justice. Does it mean that the Ministry of Law and Justice exercises a
supervisory jurisdiction over the Tribunal? Supervisory control under the H
172 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2004] I S.C.R.

A Rules of Allocation of Business relates to the administrative matters and not
the judicial ones. The functions of the Tribunal being judicial in nature, the
public have a major stake in its functioning, for effective and orderly
administration of justice. A Tribunal should, as far as possible, have a judicial
autonomy. The provisions of Sections 252, 254 and 255, as noticed
hereinbefore,, confer a statutory power upon the President to constitute Benches.
B The Appellate Tribunal is a National Tribunal. The President subject to
delegation of powers to Senior Vice-President or the Vice-President, exercises
the administrative control over the members thereof. The Benches are to be 7
constituted only by the President. No other authority is empowered to do so.

C The primal question, therefore, which arises for consideration is as to
whether the Central Government can be said to have any power of transfer
and posting of the members of the Tribunal. It is true that ordinarily the
power of transfer vests in the employer. Such power, however, would be
subject to the statutory provisions operating in the field.

D For the aforementioned purpose, the scheme of the Act plays an
important role. In the instant case, having regard to the provisions contained
in sub-sections (I) and (5) of Section 255 of the Act, we are of the opinion
that the President has the requisite power of transfer and. posting of its ~
members. For construction of a statute, it is trite, the actual practice may be
taken into consideration.
E
In CORPUSjuris secondum, Volume 82, PP. 761, it is stated that the
controlling effect of this aid which is known as 'executive construction'
would depend upon various factors such as the length of time for which it is
followed, the nature of rights and property affected by it, the injustice resulting
from its departure and the approval that it has received in judicial decisions
F
or in legislation.
..
In Francis Bennion Statutory Interpretation, Fourth edition, the Jaw is
stated in the following terms at page 596: •
"Section 231. The basic rule: In the period immediately following its
G enactment, the history of how an enactment is understood forms part
of the contemporanea expositio, and may be held to throw light on
the legislative intention. The later history may, under the doctrine
that an ongoing Act is always speaking, indicate how the enactment y '
is regarded in the light of developments from time to time.
H
A.IA Y GANDHI v. B. SINGH [V. N. KHARE. CJ.] 173

COMMENT A
On a superficial view, it may be though that nothing that happens
after an Act is passed can affect the legislative intention at the time
it was passed. This overlooks the two factors stated in this section.

Contemporanea expositio The concept of legislative intention is a B
difficult one. Contemporary exposition helps to show what people
though the Act meant in the period immediately after it was passed.
Official statements on its meaning are particularly important here,
since every Act is supervised, and most were originally promoted, by
a government depai1ment which may be assumed to know what the
legislative intention was." c
In R. v. Wandsworth London Borough Council, Ex parte, Beckwith,
[1996] I All E.R. 129, the House of Lords has held that a departmental
circular is entitled to respect. It can only be ignored when it is patently
wrong. The said principle has also been followed in Indian Metals and Ferro
Alloys Ltd. v. Co/fee/or of Cenlral Excise, AIR (1991) SC 1028, p. 1034; D
Keshavii Raiji and Co. v. Commissioner of Income Tax, AIR (1991) SC
1806, p. l 817, Ray;1iand Synthetics Ltd. v. Union of India, AIR (1992) SC
847, p. 859, Kmilingam v. P.S.G. College of Technology, [1995] 2 SCALE
387, p. 397 and Collector of Cen/ra/ Excise, Vadodra v. Dhiren Chemical
Industries, [2002] 2 sec 127. E
The Central Government admittedly never exercised its purported power
of transfer and posting in its capacity as an employer or otherwise. From the
impugned Qrder, furthermore, it would appear that even therein the source of
power had not been traced from the provisions of the Income Tax Act but to
the Delegation of Financial Powers which have no nexus therewith. By reason F
~ of amendment to certain circular letters also, the Central Government cannot
-,. confer upon it such statutory power of transfer and posting of the members
of the Appellate Tribunal.

Having regard to the fact tha·t the Central Government had acted sub
silentio and even allowed the President to delegate his power to constitute G
benches to various Senior Vice-Presidents over a number of years is itself a
pointer to the fact that the Central Government was also of the opinion that
the power of transfer and posting is a part of the administrative function of
the President as an ancillary power of constitution of benches.
H
174 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2004] I S.C.R.

A Keeping in view the fact that the i"ndependence of the Tribunal is -+-
essential; for maintaining its independence any power which may be conferred
upon the executive authority must be proved to be in the interest of imparting
justice. We are of the view that this long standing practice should be allowed.
to prevail over the stand of the respondents herein. However, we are of the
opinion that by reason thereof, the President cannot be said to have an
B unguided, unfettered and unlimited jurisdiction as the same may be flawed
with great consequences. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the following
guidelines could serve .the said purpose: .., "'II
I
(i) Initial posting of a member shall be done by the Government in
consultation with the President of ITAT.
c
(ii) Postings to different benches shall be done by the President having
regard ordinarily to the following:
(a) A member save and except for sufficient and cogent reasons
shali not be posted at a place where he had earlier been
D practising as an advocate or a Chartered Accountant, as the
case may be.

(b) A member may not be posted at a place where any of his
parents, spouse or other close relation is practising as an
Advocate or a Chartered Accountant in taxation matters.
E
(c) Save and except for sufficient and cogent reasons, the
Member shall not posted at a place of a period exceeding
five years. Ordinarily, a Member may not be posted at a
place where he was earlier posted unless a period of two
years has elapsed.
F
(iii) The President shall keep the Government informed about the
orders of posting. The Government, if it so thinks fit, shall have ~

the liberty to bring to the notice of the President, ITAT relevant •
facts including that transfer and posting of a member is not in
conformity with the aforementioned guidelines. It shall also be
G at liberty to bring to the notice of the President any case of
extreme hardship which may be faced by a member by reason of
such an order of transfer and posting.
(
y
(iv) The Government shall have further libe1ty to request the President
to transfer a member from a particular bench when it is in public
H interest or in an exceptional circumstances. The President, ITA T,
AJAY GANDHI v. B. SINGH [V. N. KHARE, CJ.] 175
·-.+
it goes without saying, shall consider the same in proper A
perspective. If the President refuses to comply with the request
of the Central Government, al~hough the transfer is in public
intere~t in such a cases it would be open to the Central
Government to pass order of transfer.

Although, it is not necessary that the President should consult the Senior B
Vice-President, we are of the opini.on that he in all fairness should consult
"\ them keeping in view the fact that a large number of members are functioning
at different places and, thus, it may sometimes becomes impossible for the
President to know about the intellect or otherwise of the member for the
purpose of his posting, including his efficiency, disposal and other relevant
factors.
c
During the course of discussions, it was suggested that in exercise of
the aforementioned powers, the President must consult the two senior Vice-
presidents by forming a collegium therefor. Although we are of the opinion
that such a course of action may not be necessary but we hasten to add that D
the President, in all fairness, should consult two Senior Vice-Presidents before
passing such orders of transfer and posting. Such a measure may be necessary
having regard to the fact that the President may not be aware of the efficacy
or otherwise in relation thereto. In view of the fact that the large number of
members are functioning at different places and, thus, the advice of the
senior Vice-Presidents as regard the functioning of a particular member E
including his efficiency, disposal and other relevant factors may be considered
H by the President in ultimately passing such orders of transfer and posting.

These transferred cases are allowed on the aforementioned terms. In the
facts and circumstances of this case, there shall be no order as to costs.
F
~

I
N.J. Transferred cases allowed.
).