The Supreme Court criticized the Income Tax Department on Monday for engaging in lengthy and costly litigation over a mere ₹1.5 lakh in the case [Principal Commissioner of Income Tax 1 v M/S Weedo Ventures Pvt Ltd].
Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar stressed the importance of responsibility when bringing cases before the apex court.
“Before approaching the Supreme Court, one must take responsibility. We are baffled by why a case involving such a trivial amount has led to this much litigation. The expenses you incur here are much more than the amount in question. Just the appearance fee for one day at the Supreme Court exceeds this sum,” remarked Justice Khanna.
The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal related to a Calcutta High Court decision that upheld a ruling by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. The Bench expressed frustration at the focus on a case worth only ₹1.5 lakh, suggesting that questions of law should be addressed in more significant matters.
This isn’t the first instance where the Supreme Court has voiced its discontent over unnecessary legal battles. In August of the previous year, the Court lamented that much of the litigation initiated by the government is frivolous, even as efforts to develop a cohesive litigation policy remain unfulfilled. The trend of filing pointless petitions has been unnecessarily burdening the Court’s resources.
In May of last year, a Bench led by Justice BR Gavai noted that nearly 40 percent of the litigation pursued by Central and State governments was frivolous. Furthermore, in April 2023, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urged the Central government to widely adopt mediation instead of relying on litigation for resolving legal issues.