The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday agreed to examine a batch of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) filed by the Income Tax Department, granting relief on delay issues and issuing notices to taxpayers involved. The matters arise from orders passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and were taken up together due to their similar procedural nature.
Background of the Case
At the centre of the lead matter is Income Tax Officer, Ward 4(3), Jalandhar, Punjab vs Jasbir Kaur, along with several connected cases. The Income Tax Department approached the Supreme Court after the High Court, on January 22, 2025, delivered judgments in writ petitions that went against the revenue authorities.
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However, the Department’s appeals before the apex court were not filed within the prescribed time. As a result, dozens of applications seeking condonation of delay-a legal request asking the court to excuse late filing-were placed before the Bench.
The cases were listed as Special Leave Petitions (Civil), a constitutional remedy that allows the Supreme Court to hear appeals against decisions of lower courts when substantial legal questions are involved.
The matters came up before a Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. Senior law officers and a large team of advocates appeared for the Income Tax Department, reflecting the volume and importance of the batch of cases.
After hearing the submissions, the Bench took up the preliminary issue of delay. Court officials read out a long list of diary numbers, each representing a separate petition or application. Many of these involved delays both in filing and refiling after curing procedural defects.
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Court’s Observations
The Bench made it clear that, at this stage, it was not entering into the merits of the tax disputes themselves. Instead, the focus was limited to whether the Department should be allowed to cross the procedural hurdle of limitation.
In open court, the judges noted that the explanations offered were sufficient for the present purpose. As recorded in the order, “Delay in filing the Special Leave Petitions is condoned,” the Bench observed while allowing several applications.
In some matters, delays in refiling-where petitions are returned for correction of defects-were also excused. For other petitions, the Court directed that notices be issued on the applications seeking condonation of delay as well as on the main SLPs.
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Decision of the Court
In its order dated January 7, 2026, the Supreme Court passed the following directions:
- Delays in filing SLPs in a significant number of diary matters were formally condoned.
- Delays in refiling certain petitions were also excused.
- Notices were issued to the respondents in multiple cases.
- In the remaining matters, the Court ordered issuance of notice on both the delay applications and the main Special Leave Petitions.
With this, the Court allowed the Income Tax Department’s appeals to move past the procedural stage, clearing the way for future hearings on the substantive legal issues involved.
Case Title: Income Tax Officer, Ward 4(3), Jalandhar vs Jasbir Kaur & Connected Matters
Case No.: SLP (Civil) Diary No. 70289/2025 and connected diaries
Case Type: Special Leave Petition (Civil) – Income Tax
Decision Date: 07 January 2026
