First to challenge vires of Section 97, Finance Act 2022

First advocate in India to challenge constitutional validity of Section 97, Finance Act 2022. Union of India filed Transfer Petition before the Supreme Court.

The issue

The constitutional validity of Section 97 of the Finance Act 2022 was challenged before the Delhi High Court, in the line of matters following Canon India. Our advisor was the first advocate in India to bring that challenge.

Challenges of this kind are brought where the objection is not that a provision has been wrongly applied to a particular taxpayer, but that the provision itself cannot stand.

Why it matters

The Union of India responded by filing a Transfer Petition before the Supreme Court — T.P.(C) No. 1576-1597/2023.

Being first to raise a constitutional point matters practically as well as reputationally: the framing adopted in the first petition tends to shape how the issue is argued by everyone who follows.

Related practice area

This matter falls within our constitutional challenges practice.