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NON-REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1478 of 2016

[@ SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 9705 OF 2009] COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, KANPUR & ORS.    Appellant(s)

                               VERSUS SOCIETY FOR THE PROMN.OF EDN., ALLAHABAD     Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

KURIAN, J.   1. Leave granted.   2. There  is  no  appearance  on  behalf  of  the  sole  respondent despite service of notice and adjournment  sought for on a couple of occasions earlier.     3. The  short  issue  is  with  regard  to  the  deemed  registration of an application under Section 12AA of  the Income Tax Act.  The High Court has taken the  view that once an application is made under the said  provision and in case the same is not responded to  within  six  months,  it  would  be  taken  that  the  application is registered under the provision.   4. The  learned  Additional  Solicitor  General  appearing  for  the  appellants,  has  raised  an  apprehension  that  in  the  case  of  the  respondent,  since the date of application was of 24.02.2003, at  the  worst,  the  same  would  operate  only  after  six  months from the date of the application.  

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5. We see no basis for such an apprehension since  that is the only logical sense in which the Judgment  could be understood.  Therefore, in order to disabuse  any  apprehension,  we  make  it  clear  that  the  registration of the application under Section 12AA of  the  Income  Tax  Act  in  the  case  of  the  respondent  shall take effect from 24.08.2003.   6. Subject to the above clarification and leaving  all  other  questions  of  law  open,  the  appeal  is  disposed of with no order as to costs.   

.......................J.               [ KURIAN JOSEPH ]  

.......................J.               [ ROHINTON FALI NARIMAN ]  New Delhi; February 16, 2016.