INCOME TAX OFFICER Vs. CHIRANJI LAL RAMJI DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Letters Patent Appeal is directed against the judgment of H. R. Khanna, J. (as he then was) dated the 24th of March, 1969, by which Civil Writ No. 782A-D of 1966 was disposed of.

(2.) The writ had been filed by the respondents to this appeal impugning a notice dated 21st March, 1966, issued under section 148 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereafter called "the Act") and the prayer was that the notice be quashed and the proceedings being conducted in consequence thereof be discontinued.

(3.) The respondents were a Hindu unidivided family firm carrying on business as commission agents with head office at Bhiwani and branches at Delhi, Hazaribagh, Narnaul, Bikaner and other places. The sa.id status of the firm continued till the 13th of November, 1955, when a partial partition took place. In paragraph 7 of the writ petition it was asserted that the income of the various branches was assessed as described therein and assessment for the years 1949-50 was made by an order dated 31st January, 1952. It was then stated in paragraph 8 of the writ petition that on 21st of March, 1966, a notice had been issued under section 148 of the Act "on the unfounded allegation that the income chargeable to tax for the assessment year 1949-50 had escaped assessment within the meaning of section 147 of the Act, of 1961". After receiving the notice the respondents filed a return dated 25th April, 1966 in order to avoid an ex-parte assessment. It is stated in paragraph 9 of the writ petition that there were inadvertent omissions of important legal objections and a revised return was filed on the 9th of September. 1966. A copy of the revised return was filed as Annexure "D" with the writ petition. A note was made on the revised return to the effect "Under protest, no income has escaped assessment. . The notice under section 148 is illegal and barred by time" The writ petition was later on allowed to be amended so as to contain further facts and grounds.