No Penalty Can Be Levied U/S 271B Of IT Act If No Prejudice Is Caused To Dept On Account Of Belated Furnishing Of Audit Report: Kerala HC

The Kerala High Court held that circumstances under which AO can absolve a taxpayer from payment of penalty u/s 271B are discernible from a reading of Sec 273B, which states that no penalty can be imposed on an assessee u/s 271B for breach of the provisions, if he proves that there was "reasonable cause" for the said failure.The provision of Section 44AB of Income tax Act prescribes a procedure of audit of accounts by certain categories of assessees and deals inter alia with the manner in which...

Pappanji Burning: Kerala High Court Questions Police Over Notice Issued To Stop Burning Of Effigy During New-Year Celebrations

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (24th December) asked the Government pleader to inform court specifically about the provision under which the police issued stop memo against burning of 'Pappanji' in Fort Kochi. Justice Easwaran S. made this observation in a petition filed by Gala de Fort Kochi, the club which erected the Pappanji this year.'Pappanji burning' is an annual ritual conducted as part of the New Year Celebration. A giant effigy of an old man is burned at 31st December...

Kerala High Court Weekly Round-Up: December 16 To December 22, 2024

Nominal Index [Citations: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 802 – 822 ]Dr. Thahiya Thasleem V S & Another v State of Kerala, 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 802A. K. Sreekumar v The Director and Others, 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 803Sebastian Paul v P. R. Ashokan and Others, 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 804Vijith V. C. and Others v State of Kerala and AnotherCitation: 2024 LiveLaw (Ker) 805Davy Varghese v The Deputy Director,...

Kerala High Court Convenes Special Sitting After Children In Ponnuruni Anganwadi Get Food Poisoning, Takes Note Of Waste Dumping In Tirunelveli

A special Bench of Kerala High Court comprising Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas and Justice Gopinath P. convened a special sitting on Monday (December 23) after seeing news visuals about the food poisoning incident in an Anganwadi in Ponnuruni. Reportedly, 12 kids and one ayah of the Anganwadi have shown symptoms of food poisoning. The Court said that they noticed in the video that the...

Banks Cannot Coerce Defaulters To Pay By Publishing Their Photos, It Violates Right To Privacy & Reputation : Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court held that a bank cannot publish the photo and details of defaulting borrowers to coerce them to repay loan. Justice Murali Purushothaman observed that such acts invade a person's right to live with dignity and reputation.“The borrowers cannot be coerced to repay the loans by threatening to damage their reputation and privacy. The publication or display of photographs...

Kerala High Court Stops Sunburn Festival To Be Conducted In Wayanad On New Year's Eve Upon Plea By Residents

The Kerala High Court directed the Disaster Management authorities and other concerned authorities to ensure that the 'Sunburn Festival' is not conducted in Wayand unauthorisedly. The event is advertised to be conducted in 'Boche 1000 Acres' at Chulika Estate in Wayanad on the new year's eve . Justice Ziyad Rahman A. A. took note of the fact that the organisers had not obtained the...

Kerala High Court Directs Formulation Of Grievance Redressal Mechanism For Victims Of Animal, Reptile Attacks

The Kerala High Court has asked the Kerala State Legal Service Authority (KELSA) to conduct a discussion with the Government to formulate guidelines and work out a grievance redressal mechanism for the victims of animal and reptile attacks. Justice C. S. Dias observed that there is an alarming number of animal and reptile attacks in the state, and yet there is no comprehensive legislation...

BJP Candidate Moves Kerala High Court Challenging Election Of Priyanka Gandhi From Wayanad Constituency

Navya Haridas, who stood in the recent Parliamentary by-elections conducted in Wayanad constituency on November 23 had filed a petition against the winning candidate Priyanka Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi had won the election with a margin of over 4 Lakh over the CPI candidate, Sathyan Mokeri. Navya Haridas came a distant third.Navya Haridas alleges that the Ms. Gandhi suppressed vital...

Notice Issued Against Dead Person Is Invalid; Participation Of Legal Heirs In Proceedings Doesn't Make It Legal: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court stated that notice issued against a dead person is invalid and participation of legal heirs of deceased in the proceedings won't make it legal. The Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and K.V. Jayakumar observed that “the consent of the parties cannot confer jurisdiction to the assessing authority for initiation of an action which...

Orders Issued U/S 73 Of CGST Act Must Carry Digital Or Physical Signature Of Officer In Order To Be Treated As Valid: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court stated that orders issued under Section 73 of the CGST/SGST Acts must carry the digital or manual signature of the officer passing the order in order to treat the order to be a valid order. The Bench of Justice Gopinath P. was considering the issue that whether orders issued under Section 73 of the CGST/SGST Acts must carry the digital or manual signature of...

Attempt To Murder Case Can Be Settled After Filing Of Final Report Upon Considering Nature Of Injuries Sustained: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has reiterated that an attempt to murder case under IPC Section 307 can be settled between the accused and complainant after filing Final Report if the prosecution materials do not suggest commission of the said offence and after considering the injuries sustained to the victim. Referring to various Supreme Court judgments, Justice A. Badharudeen held that such a case...

Mistake Committed By Assessee Was Inadvertent & Technical; No Wrongful Availment Of ITC: Kerala High Court Quashes Demand Order

The Kerala High Court while quashing the demand order stated that there has been no wrong availment of credit, and that the only mistake committed by the assessee was an inadvertent and technical one, where he had omitted to mention the IGST figures separately in Form GSTR 3B. The Division Bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and K.V. Jayakumar observed that “……The...