Susanta Chatterji, J. - (1.) The present writ petition has been filed praying, inter alia, for" an appropriate writ commanding the respondents to issue refund vouchers for the assessment years 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1973-74, 1974-75 and 1976-77 and interest on the said amount of refund and other consequential reliefs on the ground that the respondents have a statutory obligation and the duty to forthwith refund the amount due to the petitioner and to pay the interest and issue necessary refund vouchers in terms of Section 244 of the Income-tax Act, particularly when the respondents themselves have already passed the order under Section 244 of the Act allowing interest on the amount due to the petitioner. The respondents are allegedly acting in contravention of the statutory provisions and such witholding of interest is unwarranted and without jurisdiction.
(2.) Dr. Debi Pal, appearing for the writ-petitioner, has mainly submitted that, for the assessment years in this case as indicated above, the assessment orders were under and in accordance with the law. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner passed the orders for the relevant assessment years and the Appellate Tribunal, on appeals having been preferred by the Department, confirmed the orders of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Tribunal allegedly passed the orders for the first two years in April, 1972, for the third and fourth years in May, 1974, and for the fifth year in January, 1976.
(3.) It is placed on record that the Income-tax Officer finally calculated the amount refundable as a result of the appellate orders.;