COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. RAM KRIPAL TRIPATHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Allahabad Bench, has by its order dated December 23, 1977, referred the following question to this court for its opinion :

(2.) The assessee, opposite party, is an individual and claims himself to be a religious preacher. During the previous year relevant to the assessment year 1966-67, the assessee had received certain offerings in cash and kind from his disciples. The value of the offerings so received was estimated by the Income-tax Officer at Rs. 3,000 which on appeal was reduced to Rs. 2,000. This income was included and brought to tax in the hands of the assessee. Before the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, it was urged that the assessee did not carry on any vocation of preaching. Some expenses during his lecture tour which he incurred were met by his disciples and the amount so spent cannot be treated as his income much less a perquisite. It was also asserted that the assessee was not an employee of those persons. The Tribunal held that the expenses incurred by the assessee's disciples for his lectures should not be regarded as income liable to tax and, accordingly, the addition was deleted. On an application made by the Department, thereafter, the aforesaid question has been referred to this court for its opinion. In the assessment year 1965-66, the assessee had given discourses on vedanta and for that purpose had taken tours. In the relevant previous year, the assessee made an investment of Rs. 16,100 in the purchase of a car and it was registered in his name. The claim of the assessee was that the price paid for the car had come from the followers by way of contributions. The Income-tax Officer took the view that since donations were made by the followers of the assessee who had benefited by his preachings, these receipts were for the exercise of the vocation carried on by the assessee and hence were taxable in his hands. He accordingly included the sum of Rs. 16,100 in the income of the assessee. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, however, did not agree with the view of the Income-tax Officer and, accordingly, the inclusion of Rs. 16,100 in the income of the assessee was deleted by the Tribunal. At the instance of the Department, two questions were referred to this court for its opinion :

(3.) That reference was numbered as income-tax Reference No. 84 of 1978. It was decided by a Division Bench of this court on 28th March, 1980 (Addl. CIT v. Ram Kripal Tripathi, [1980] 125 ITR 408). The two questions mentioned above which had been referred to this court were answered in the affirmative, in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee. The decision given by the Tribunal in the case giving rise to Income-tax Reference No. 84 of 1978, referred to above, has been relied on by the Tribunal in deciding the appeal in the instant case. The question which has been referred to this court in the instant case is identical to the two questions which were answered by this court in ITR No. 84 of 1978. The decision of this court in that case is reported as Addl. CIT v. Ram Kripal Tripathi, [1980] 125 ITR 408. For the reasons recorded in that decision, we answer the question referred to in this case also in the affirmative, in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee. There shall be no order as to costs.