Judgment

SARKAR, CJI. : The assessee was an advocate of the High Court of Bombay and was pactising his profession there till March 1, 1957, when he was elevated to the Bench of that Court. He then ceased to carry on his profession and has not resumed it since. As an advocate he had been assessed to Income-tax on his professional income, his accounting years for the assessments being the calendar years. When he was raised to the Bench, various fees for professional work done by him were outstanding. In the years 1958 and 1959 during no part of which he had carried on any profession, he received certain moneys on account of these outstanding fees. His accounts had always been kept on the cash basis. The question is, whether he is liable to pay Income-tax on these receipts.

2. We shall first make a few general observations. Section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 1922, specifies six sources or heads of income which are chargeable to tax. In order to be chargeable, an income has to be brought under one of these six heads. S. 6 also provides that the chargeability to tax shall be in the manner provided in Ss. 7 to 12-B of the Act. Each of these sections lays down the rules for computing income f