Judgment :

SARKAR J.

These are two appeals arising out of two assessment orders made under the Income-tax Act, 1922, respectively for the years 1945-46 and 1947-48. In each assessment case there was a reference of certain questions to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh under section 66 of the Act and the present appeals are against the High Court's answers to these questions.

The assessee is a trader carrying on two businesses, namely manihari (general merchandise) and bidis. He had also certain income from property but with this income we are not concerned in these appeals. For each of the assessment years concerned, the assessee had submitted a return but as his accounts were not found complete and reliable, the Income-tax officer had assessed the gross profits of the businesses on the basis of certain percentages of the total sales which had also to be fixed by estimates. No question arises in these appeals as to the correctness of these assessments.

Subsequently, while dealing with the assessment for the year 1948-49, the Income-tax Officer noticed various credit entries in the assessee's books of account which had all escaped his attention at the time of the assessment for the years 1945-46 and 1947-48 earlier mentioned. These entries were as follows :

1945-46 Rs.

(i) Gold Khata ... 41, 300

(ii) Ghar Khata ... 33, 000

(iii) Mohammad Islam Khata ... 10, 000

(iv) Muslim Bi Khata ... 11, 000 Total ... 95, 300 1947-48

(i) Ghar Khata credit under sale of ornaments ... 19, 575

(ii) Yakub Manihar account Loan from Yakub Manihar ... 20, 000 Total ... 39, 575 The Income-tax Officer thereupon, with the sanction of the Commissioner of Income-tax, re-opened the assessments in respect of these years and after giving the assessee full opportunity to explain the nature of these entries made fresh assessments under section 34. In the fresh assessments he added to the previously estimated incomes the said sum of Rs. 95, 300 in respect of the year 1945-46 and the said sum of Rs. 39, 575 in respect of the year 1947-48, as he was unable to accept the explanation offered by the assessee in support of his contention that the credit entries did not represent income.The assessee appealed against these fresh assessments to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner but the appeals were unsuccessful. He then appealed to the Income-tax Tribunal. The Tribunal found the assessee's explanation with regard to the said entries for the amounts of Rs. 33, 000 and Rs. 10, 000 under the heads "Ghar Khata" and "Muhammad Islam Khata" respectively, acceptable and ordered their deletion from the assessment for the year 1945-46, but otherwise maintained the orders of the Income-tax Officer. Thereafter, under the orders of the High Court under section 66(2) of the Act made at the instance of the assessee, the Tribunal framed six questions in each of the assessment cases and referred them to the High Court for its decision. The questions framed were identical in the two cases excepting as to one minor matter in question No. 6 which made no difference and the reference in the two cases were heard together. These questions were answered by the high Court against the assessee and hence, the present appeals by the assessee.

As we have said, there were six questions in each case which were for all practical purposes in identical terms and the questions in the two cases, therefore, need not be discussed separately. Of these six questions it is unnecessary to deal with the first three, for two of these had been abandoned in the High Court and High Court's answer to the third was not challenged in this court.

The first question that arises for discussion is question No.4, which was in these terms :

"Whether the burden of proving the source of the cash credits is on the assessee ?"

It seems to us that the answer to this question must be in the affirmative and that is how it was answered by the High Court. It is well established that the onus of proving the source of a sum of money