HC Disposes of Writ as Infructuous After Tribunal President Assigns Case to New Bench.

HC Disposes of Writ as Infructuous After Tribunal President Assigns Case to New Bench.

Issue

Whether a High Court writ petition, filed to restrain a specific judicial member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) from re-hearing a matter, becomes infructuous and can be disposed of once the President of the ITAT re-assigns the case to a different bench.

Facts

• The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal passed an order in the petitioner’s case, which was prima facie suspected to be “AI driven.”
• This controversial order was subsequently recalled by the Tribunal.
• While some members of that original bench recused themselves from the re-hearing, the judicial member who had allegedly authored the recalled order wished to hear the matter again.
• The petitioner filed an application with the President of the ITAT to post the matter before a different bench.
• While this application was pending, the original bench (with the same judicial member) passed an adverse order against the petitioner.
• The petitioner filed a writ petition in the High Court, which passed an interim order restraining that specific judicial member from hearing the matter.
• Following the High Court’s intervention, the President of the ITAT assigned the matter to a different bench.
• The petitioner then submitted to the High Court that since their grievance was resolved, the writ petition had become unnecessary (infructuous).

Decision

• The High Court, accepting the petitioner’s submission, disposed of the writ petition as infructuous.
• The petition was rendered unnecessary because the relief sought (assigning the case to a different bench) had been granted by the President of the Tribunal.
• The court preserved the petitioner’s liberty to seek appropriate legal remedies in the future if any subsequent order from the new bench gives them a fresh cause of action.

Key Takeaways

• Judicial Propriety: The case highlights the importance of judicial propriety. A judge who has authored a decision that is recalled (especially under controversial circumstances) may be restrained from re-hearing the same matter to avoid any perception of bias.
• High Court’s Intervention: The High Court can exercise its writ jurisdiction to intervene in the proceedings of a lower tribunal to uphold the principles of natural justice, which include the right to an unbiased hearing.
• Writ Becomes Infructuous When Relief is Granted: A writ petition is rendered infructuous (pointless) when the administrative or judicial action that the petitioner sought is completed or granted while the petition is still pending.
• Preservation of Rights: When disposing of an infructuous petition, the court will often “reserve liberty” for the petitioner, which means they are not barred from initiating new legal proceedings if a new cause of action arises from the freshly constituted bench.