Madras HC Orders CBDT to Release Attachment on Taxpayer’s Pension Account Considering Age and Health

The Madras High Court has ordered the income tax department to release the attachment on the pension account of the taxpayer, taking into account the individual’s age and health condition.

This directive was issued by the bench composed of Justice R. Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq. They issued the order after observing that the entire pension amount, including arrears, is currently held in the appellant’s bank account. It was also noted that only a sum of Rs. 1,35,000 in that account pertains to other funds.

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The Court addressed a writ appeal filed by the appellant, who was seeking instructions for the department to release the attachment on an account held at the State Bank of India.

In a previous ruling, a single judge had disposed of the writ petition and directed the department to lift the attachment order concerning the petitioner’s pension.

Nevertheless, the Court had imposed a restriction, allowing only the pension credited by the pension-paying authority to be withdrawn while other funds in the attached account remained inaccessible.

The court also instructed the respondent to send an appropriate communication to the bank. In the meantime, the Appellate Commissioner was tasked with promptly resolving the appeals that had been remanded back to them, ideally within a 3-month timeframe.

Dissatisfied with the aforementioned ruling by the judge, the petitioner pursued a writ appeal.

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Upon reviewing the case, the division bench took into consideration the petitioner’s age and health condition and noted that one of the petitioner’s bank accounts was associated with their pension. As an interim measure, the Court ordered the release of the bank account containing the pension funds to address the petitioner’s essential needs. Out of the available balance of Rs. 15,48,893.66, a sum of Rs. 5,00,000 was to be retained in that account, while the remaining balance was to be transferred to another account also holding the pension funds, but currently subject to attachment.

The petitioner argued that they should be allowed to access their pension account to address health-related expenses.

The court ruled that the petitioner was entitled to operate their pension account and conduct all transactions involving the funds, except a sum of Rs. 1,35,000, which the petitioner claimed pertained to other funds. This specific amount of Rs. 1,35,000 was to be transferred from the pension account to the other account that was currently under attachment.