Judgement

Appeal (No. 18 of 1931) from a decree of the High Court (August 7, 1928) upon questions referred to the Court under s. 66, sub-s. 2, of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.

The case related to the assessment of the appellants under the above Act for the year 1926-27 in respect of profits or gains arising in 1925-26 from a money-lending business which they carried on. In 1904 the appellants had accepted a mortgage bond in discharge of the principal and interest due under the earlier bond. On December 22, 1917, they obtained a mortgage decree under the mortgage of 1904, and at Court sales on November 19, 1924, and January 31, 1925, they purchased the mortgaged property, the sales being confirmed on December 18 and 21, 1925. The purchase price largely exceeded the principal sums advanced.

Law Rep. 60 Ind. App. 133 ( 1932- 1933) Raja Raghunandan v. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bihar 29

Shortly stated the questions referred were whether the transaction of 1904 was a payment of the interest due under the earlier bond so as to render the present assessment in respect of it out of time under s. 34 of the Act, and as to the proper computation of the profits or gains arising upon the sale and purchase of the mortgaged property.

The terms of the questions and the material facts appear from the judgment of the Judicial Committee.

The questions referred were argued before Das, Kulwant Sahay and Wort JJ. ; the proceedings are reported at I. L. R. 9 P. 48, where the case stated is set out.

1932. Nov. 11, 14. De Gruyther K.C. and G. D. McNair for the appellants.

Dunne K.C. and R. P. Hills for the respondents.

1933. Jan. 24. The judgment of their Lordships was delivered by

LORD MACMILLAN. This appeal brings before their Lordships eight questions relating to the taxable income of the appellants for the year 1926-27. The appellants carry on the business of money-lenders and are liable under s. 3 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, to pay income-tax for the year 1926-27 in respect of the profits or gains of their business in the previous year, 1925-26, as computed in accordance with the provisions of s. 10 of the Act.

Being dissatisfied with the assessment of the income-tax officer and with the result of an appeal to the assistant commissioner, the appellants under s. 66, sub-s. 2, required the commissioner to refer to the High Court of Judicature at Patna a series of questions purporting to be questions of law arising out of the assistant commissioners order. The commissioner accordingly, as directed by the Act, drew up a statement of the case and referred it to the High Court with his own opinion on the eight questions which he formulated.

The transactions which have given rise to the questions at issue relate to the lending of money by the appellants or their predecessor (hereinafter called "the assessees") in connection with a property known as the Srinagar estate. It appears that on the death of the proprietor of this estate in 1880 a one-third share thereof was in a partition suit awarded to his son Nityanand and the other two-thirds jointly to Kamlanand and Kalikanand, his sons by another wife. In 1894 Nityanand mortgaged his one-third share to the assessees for two lakhs of rupees. Five years later he borrowed on further mortgage of his share a sum of three and a half lakhs from the Benaili Rajas. On this latter mortgage the Benaili Rajas obtained in 1902 a decree against Nityanand for Rs. 4,57,159, principal and interest. His half-brothers in 1903 bought this mortgage decree for five lakhs and in security of the purchase price mortgaged their two-thirds of the Srinagar estate to the Benaili Rajas. In the same year they purchased Nityanands equity of redemption.

In July, 1904, there was due to the assessees under the mortgage of 1894 a sum of Rs. 4,33,135, being Rs. 2,00,000 of principal and Rs. 2,33,135 of interest, and to the Benaili Rajas under the mortgage of 1903 a sum of Rs. 5,25,815. The debtors, Kamlanand and Kalikanand, sett