High Court of Meghalaya · Judgments and reasoned final orders
Shri Mitchell Wankhar v. The Union of India & Ors.
WP(C) No. 52 of 2025 with WP(C) No. 65 of 2025 ·
Khasi Scheduled Tribe taxpayer claiming section 10(26) exemption facing Rs. 14.17 crore (AY 2016-17) and Rs. 13.46 crore (AY 2022-23) demands under section 69A and bank-account freeze: CIT(A) directed to decide pending appeals/stay within 4 weeks while interim protection continues, failing which bank accounts must be de-frozen.
1. FACTS OF THE CASE
The petitioner, a businessman belonging to the Khasi Scheduled Tribe claiming exemption under section 10(26), was subjected to a reassessment order dated 26.02.2024 under sections 147/144/144B for AY 2016-17 raising a demand of Rs. 14.17 crore (WP(C) No. 52/2025) and a scrutiny assessment order dated 15.02.2024 under sections 143(3)/144B for AY 2022-23 raising a demand of Rs. 13,46,02,272 (WP(C) No. 65/2025) by treating bank deposits as unexplained income under section 69A. While his belated statutory appeals under section 246A with delay-condonation and section 220(6) stay applications remained pending, the Department froze his bank accounts in SBI and Meghalaya Rural Bank.
2. DISCUSSION BY THE COURT
Noting that the petitioner admittedly belonged to the Khasi Scheduled Tribe eligible for exemption under section 10(26) and that his statutory appeals and delay-condonation applications had not yet been taken up by the CIT(A), the Division Bench held that the interim restraint against coercive recovery should continue while directing the CIT(A) to consider or finally dispose of the appeals within four weeks, failing which the respondents must issue instructions to de-freeze the petitioner's bank accounts.
3. JUDICIAL DECISION
Disposed of WP(C) No. 52 of 2025 and WP(C) No. 65 of 2025 directing the CIT(A) to consider/dispose of the appeals within four weeks while continuing the interim stay, with a self-executing direction to de-freeze the petitioner's bank accounts if no appellate orders are passed within four weeks.
4. OUTCOME
Assessee - CIT(A) directed to consider/dispose of appeals within 4 weeks with interim stay continuing; automatic direction to de-freeze SBI and Meghalaya Rural Bank accounts if no orders are passed within 4 weeks.
5. AKHB REVIEW POINT
AKHB analysis: for Sixth Schedule tribal taxpayers claiming section 10(26) exemption whose bank accounts are attached before NFAC takes up their delay-condonation/stay applications, Mitchell Wankhar provides a strong precedent for a 4-week sunset clause on bank attachment.
Source: AKHB analysis based on Paragraphs 11-12; PDF pp. 8-9
Source and verification
9-page official High Court of Meghalaya judgment PDF (20250617_MLHC010002152025.pdf).
Original PDF: 9 pages · SHA-256: 6b416be73323334e02901ed8ac90c16de794ec118c3b99b3b267a6876749ed3d
Supplied source-reviewed note retained; original bytes and identity validation checked in this release. Substantive re-review is not claimed for this record.
Applies sections 10(26), 69A, 144B, 147, 220(6) and 246A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for AYs 2016-17 and 2022-23. Income-tax Act, 2025 equivalence is not verified.
Full primary judgment PDF read page-by-page and verified against the AKHB Google Drive repository. Comprehensive subsequent judicial treatment has not been independently verified.
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