The Commissioner Of Income Tax(Central), Pune v. Santosh Vasant Shetty

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY O. O. C. J. NOTICE OF MOTION NO.4062 OF 2009 IN INCOME TAX APPEAL (LODG.) NO.455 OF 2006 The Commissioner of Income Tax(Central), Pune Vs. Santosh Vasant Shetty .... Mr. Vimal Gupta for the Appellant.None for the Respondent. ..... ..Appellant. ..Respondent. CORAM : DR.D.Y.CHANDRACHUD &J.P.DEVADHAR, JJ. P.C. : 2[nd] March, 2010. 1.An affidavit of service has been filed. The Respondent has not entered appearance. 2.The Motion is for restoration of an appeal which was dismissed in default for non-removal of office objections pursuant to an order dated 6[th] March, 2007 of the Prothonotary. There is a delay of 949 days in taking out the Notice of Motion. We do not find that a satisfactory explanation has been made out in the affidavit in support of the Notice of Motion. However, in the interest of justice, we are of the view that the delay should be condoned subject to the payment of costs. Since the Respondent has not appeared in these proceedings, we direct that the costs be paid over to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority. The Notice of Motion is accordingly made absolute in terms of prayer clauses A and B conditional on the payment of costs quantified at Rs.5,000/- to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority within a period of four weeks from today. Time to remove office objections, subject to compliance of the conditional order noted above is extended by a period of eight weeks from today failing which the appeal shall stand dismissed for want of prosecution without further reference to the Court. The Motion is accordingly disposed of. (Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J.) (J.P. Devadhar, J.)