Five day circuit bench in M’luru launched, ITAT plans more video courts

Five day circuit bench in M’luru launched, ITAT plans more video courts

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Jan 31, 2017: Speaking to reporters after inaugurating ITAT, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, circuit bench at South India Regional Council (SIRC)-Institute of Chartered accountants of India (ICAI) auditorium Mangaluru on Jan 30, Monday; its president Justice Dev Darshan Sud, who is also the former judge of Himachal Pradesh High Court, said, "It is now proposed to set up video courts at Gauwhati in Assam, Coimbatore and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, while it is already functioning at Rajkot in Gujarat, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. At Rajkot."  To ensure speedy justice and address the pendency of cases, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has plans to set up more video courts in the country.

Justice Sud, who described it as a road map for the next 10 years to set up video courts, said that till then circuit benches will be actively functioning to bring down the pendency of number of cases, in cities where 100 to 200 cases are listed to be taken up.

He also claimed to have made a start in this regard by bringing the pendency down to 91,537 against 1.04 lakh cases, when he took over as the head of the tribunal in 2015. Every tribunal member has been categorically told to dispose of 50 cases per month, which was earlier not possible due to the impediment in lack of adequate members, he remarked.

Earlier addressing a general gathering of IT assesses, advocates and chartered accountants, Justice Sud, who vouched for impartial delivery of justice, said the focus is on south India with cities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The circuit bench has made a start from Mysuru in Karnataka (December 2016), the second sitting will be held in Mangaluru up to February 3.

The next bench in Madurai in Tamil Nadu is scheduled to be held either on February 2 or 3, he explained. Principal commissioner of Income Tax Narottam Mishra said, "There is a change in trend in the last two years in the department, where the cases are filed only on the bases of its merit. It will also bring down the number of litigations in the future." A room in the second floor of ICAI building has been turned into a court hall to hear the cases listed for five days.