ARUNAGIRI CHETTIAR S Vs. THIRD INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE writ petitions are for prohibition prohibiting the respondents herein from taking recovery proceedings against the petitioner under the provisions of the I.T. Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), relating to the assessment years 1962-63 and 1963-64 seeking to recover a sum of Rs. 1,25,858 in pursuance of the demand dated January 29, 1975.

(2.) THE short facts are as follows : THE father of the petitioner was a partner in three firms, (1) M/s. S. S. Sannanna Chettiar & Sons, (2) M/s. Shanmugasundaram Textiles, and (3) M/s. Mari Chettiar & Co. THE petitioner retired from the firm of M/s. S. S. Sannanna Chettiar & Sons on April 19, 1963. THE business of the said firm was continued under a new and different partnership arrangement. In other words, there was a change in the constitution of the firm of M/s. S. S. Sannanna Chettiar & Sons as per the provisions of Section 187(2)(a) of the Act. After the petitioner retired from the partnership, the business was carried on by two of the other partners along with two other persons who were taken in as partners. THE latter partnership came to be dissolved with effect from April 12, 1972.

(3.) IN order to appreciate the respective contentions, let us refer to the relevant sections of the Act which have a bearing. Section 185(1) of the Act, relating to procedure on receipt of application, reads :