Judgment

UNTWALIA, J.:- These four appeals by certificate are from a common judgement of the Allahabad High Court allowing four writ petitions filed by the two respondent companies namely J.K. Commercial Corporation Ltd. and J.K. Synthetics Ltd. In respect of the assessment years 1955-56 and 1956-57 assessment orders were passes by the Income-tax Officer, Kanpur under Section 23 (3) of the Income Tax Act, 1922 -- hereinafter referred to as the Act. Subsequent to the passing of the said orders of assessment the Income-tax Officer passes four orders in respect of the two assessment years against the two companies under Section 23A of the Act on January 21, 1957 asking the companies to pay certain amounts of additional super-tax on the undistributed profit of the concerned years. In November, 1959 the Income-tax Officer issued a notice under Section 35 (1) of the Act for rectification of the mistakes committed in the previous orders passed under Section 23A on 21-1-1957. The assessee companies in response to the notices objected to the proposed rectification by the Income-tax Officer, inter alia, on the ground that he had no power to rectify any mistake in an order under Section 23A of