VELLORE GOVINDARAJULU MUDALIAR Vs. INCOME TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is an income-tax assessee. He has filed this application under section 226 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ directing the Income-tax Officer, Adoni, the first respondent herein, to dispose of the petitioner's application filed on April 24, 1956, under section 45 of the Indian Income-tax Act, in accordance with law, and not to treat the petitioner as a defaulter in regard to the payment of penalties levied for the assessment years 1945-48, during the pendency of his appeals I.T.A. Nos. 597 to 599 of 1953-54, on the file of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, Bangalore THE application dated April 24, 1956, filed by the petitioner before the first respondent, was in fact considered and disposed of by the latter by his order dated April 25, 1956 ; but the complaint of the petitioner is that he had not been given a personal hearing by the first respondent in dealing with his application under section 45 of the Income-tax Act and consequently the order passed by the first respondent is bad in law.

(2.) THE petitioner was an arrack depot keeper and was also deriving income from lorries. For the assessment years 1945-46, 1946-47 and 1947-48, he returned incomes of Rs. 16, 523, Rs. 20, 887 and Rs. 4, 025 respectively. But the assessments were completed on incomes of Rs. 55, 882, Rs. 61, 729 and Rs. 75, 233 respectively. THE incomes so assessed included certain credit items aggregating to Rs. 54, 600 for 1945-46, Rs. 27, 500 for 1946-47, and Rs. 54, 500 for 1947-48 appearing in the books of the assessee. THE assessee did not give a satisfactory explanation for those credits and therefore the Income-tax Officer treated the same as income.