CHAPTER XX — APPEALS AND REVISION | C.—Reference to High Court
CHAPTER XX — APPEALS AND REVISION | C.—Reference to High Court
Section 257 — Statement of Case to Supreme Court in Certain Cases
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Spent in practice. Operative only for pre-1-10-1998 reference applications, and only in the rare case of conflicting High Court decisions on a question of law.
Finance Act, 2026: No amendment. The Finance Act, 2026 does not touch section 257.
Nature / mechanism: Where, on a section 256 application, the Tribunal is of opinion that a conflict between High Court decisions on a question of law makes it expedient, it may, through its President, refer the case direct to the Supreme Court.
Litigation profile: No meaningful body of case law — candour rule; the provision was invoked exceptionally and is now dormant with the reference regime.
A. COMMENTARY
A direct-to-Supreme-Court reference for conflicts
Section 257 allowed the Tribunal, when faced with a question on which different High Courts had taken conflicting views, to bypass the High Court and refer the case straight to the Supreme Court through its President, where it was expedient to do so. The mechanism was rarely used and, like section 256, applies only to pre-1-10-1998 orders.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim)
Reproduced verbatim from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended up to the Finance Act, 2025); the Finance Act, 2026 makes no change to this section. Inline numerals in square brackets are the bare Act's amendment-footnote markers.
Statement of case to Supreme Court in certain cases.
257. If, on an application made against an order made under section 254 before the 1st day of October, 1998, under section 256 the Appellate Tribunal is of the opinion that, on account of a conflict in the decisions of High Courts in respect of any particular question of law, it is expedient that a reference should be made direct to the Supreme Court, the Appellate Tribunal may draw up a statement of the case and refer it through its President direct to the Supreme Court.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule — no significant decision construes section 257; the cognate reference authorities apply.
CHAPTER XX — APPEALS AND REVISION | C.—Reference to High Court
Section 257 — Statement of Case to Supreme Court in Certain Cases
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Spent in practice. Operative only for pre-1-10-1998 reference applications, and only in the rare case of conflicting High Court decisions on a question of law.
Finance Act, 2026: No amendment. The Finance Act, 2026 does not touch section 257.
Nature / mechanism: Where, on a section 256 application, the Tribunal is of opinion that a conflict between High Court decisions on a question of law makes it expedient, it may, through its President, refer the case direct to the Supreme Court.
Litigation profile: No meaningful body of case law — candour rule; the provision was invoked exceptionally and is now dormant with the reference regime.
A. COMMENTARY
A direct-to-Supreme-Court reference for conflicts
Section 257 allowed the Tribunal, when faced with a question on which different High Courts had taken conflicting views, to bypass the High Court and refer the case straight to the Supreme Court through its President, where it was expedient to do so. The mechanism was rarely used and, like section 256, applies only to pre-1-10-1998 orders.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim)
Reproduced verbatim from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended up to the Finance Act, 2025); the Finance Act, 2026 makes no change to this section. Inline numerals in square brackets are the bare Act's amendment-footnote markers.
Statement of case to Supreme Court in certain cases.
257. If, on an application made against an order made under section 254 before the 1st day of October, 1998, under section 256 the Appellate Tribunal is of the opinion that, on account of a conflict in the decisions of High Courts in respect of any particular question of law, it is expedient that a reference should be made direct to the Supreme Court, the Appellate Tribunal may draw up a statement of the case and refer it through its President direct to the Supreme Court.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule — no significant decision construes section 257; the cognate reference authorities apply.
Cluster 1 — Cognate reference principle
CIT v. Scindia Steam Navigation Co. Ltd., (1961) 42 ITR 589 (SC)
Relevance Supplies the 'question of law arising out of the order' filter that governs any reference, including a section 257 direct reference.