Madras HC dismisses Petition Against Joint Director of Income Tax (Inv) and Mining Company for Lack of Locus Standi, Not Included as Parties to Petition [Read Order]

The Madras High Court recently dismissed a writ petition filed by B. Ramamoorthy against the Joint Director of Income Tax (Investigation) and S.R.S. Mining for lack of locus standi, as neither party was included in the petition as respondents. Ramamoorthy sought direction for action on his representation following a search operation at J. Sekar alias Sekar Reddy's residence linked to S.R.S. Mining. He argued that jurisdiction over the mining company’s files had been transferred, rendering the original assessing authority incompetent. The court, however, noted that Ramamoorthy, an unrelated third party to the assessment proceedings, lacked interest in the subject matter. The bench concluded that without including S.R.S. Mining or its partners as respondents, the petitioner’s claim lacked merit, thereby dismissing the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution.