COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. SARBAMANGALA DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A consolidated statement of the case has been submitted by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Patna Bench 'A', Patna (hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal"), under Section 256(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), referring the following common question of law for the opinion of this court:

(2.) THE relevant facts of the case can be culled from the statement of the case as well as from the assessment orders of the Income-tax Officer and the orders of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. Smt. Sarbamangala Devi is the widow, and Dr. P. R. Chakravarty is the son of late Guru Anukul Chandra Thakur. THEse two assessees are mother and son, Smt. Sarbamangala Devi is an employee of satsang and gets salaries therefrom and she looks after the female Section of the organisation in consideration of which she is being paid salaries by her employer. This will be evident from the assessment orders of Smt. Sarbamangala Devi. In the assessment years 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66 and 1966-67 the assessee, Smt. Sarbamangala Devi, filed returns in pursuance of the notice served under Section 148 of the Act. THE assessee received the following amounts as pranamis : <FRM>JUDGEMENT_346_ITR165_1987Html1.htm</FRM>

(3.) THE assessees appealed before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner for all the four assessment years. THE Appellate Assistant Commissioner passed two separate orders on February 17, 1975; one relating to Smt. Sarbamangala Devi and the other relating to Dr. P. R. Chakravarty. In the case of Smt. Sarbamangala Devi, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, following the order of the Tribunal in Income-tax Appeal Nos. 806 to 810 (Pat) of 1973-74, held that the pranami amounts were not taxable and so he deleted the additions relating to the pranami amounts in all the four assessment years.