JOSEPH THOMAS Vs. AGRICULTURAL INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal against the judgment of a learned judge raises a somewhat ticklish question. The appellant's writ petition to quash Exs. P-11 and P-13 orders of the Agricultural Income-tax Appellate Tribunal and to direct the Tribunal to rehear the appeals, Exs. P-6 to P-8, preferred to it by the appellant, was dismissed by the learned judge on the short ground that an application for rectification, Ex. P-12, preferred to the Tribunal under Section 36 of the Act, was not maintainable under the said provision, and that, therefore, Ex- P-13 order rejecting the said application was quite proper and correct, with the result that there was no ground to interfere with the original order of the Tribunal, Ex. P-11, dismissing the appeals themselves on the merits.

(2.) THE appellant owns nearly 74'29 acres of garden land and 13.6 acres of single crop wet land. His wife was the owner of about 51.71 acres of garden land. In assessing the appellant to agricultural income-tax for the years 1966-67, 1967-78 and 1968-69 by Exs. P-l to P-3 orders, the Agrl. ITO clubbed the income from the estate of the wife along with the agricultural income of the appellant. Appeals against these orders (Exs. P-6 to P-8) were dismissed by a consolidated order, Ex. P-5. Against the said order a further appeal was preferred to the Appellate Tribunal. An application was made under Section 34(c) of the Act to issue a commission to ascertain the yield and the income from the properties. This was allowed and a Commission was appointed for assessing the income. THE Commission submitted its report. By Ex. P-11 order of the Tribunal dated November 15, 1972, the appeals were dismissed subject to a slight modification. THE modification was only to the extent of excluding the income from certain portion of the land included in the assessment order. THE appellant filed Ex. P-l2 application for rectification of the order of the Tribunal under Section 36 of the Act, read with Article 24 of the Kerala Agricultural Income-tax Appellate Tribunal Regulations, 1965. THEse provisions may conveniently be reproduced :

(3.) DEALING with this contention, the Tribunal stated after quoting Section 36 :