S.S.Sandhawalia, J.

1. Whether the statutory liability to pay interest under Sec.139 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (prior to its amendment with effect from 1st of April, 1971), for delayed filing of returns arises only from an application for extension of time and is not at all attracted in the absence of such an application, is the significant controversial question necessitating this reference to the Full Bench. Directly under challenge is the ratio of the Division Bench judgment of this court in CIT V/s. Bahri Bros. (P) Ltd. [1976] 102 ITR 443 holding to this effect.

2. Undoubtedly, there still persists some cleavage of judicial opinion on the point aforesaid within the country. On the one hand are the Division Bench judgments of the High Courts of Patna, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir whilst, on the other side, is arrayed the massive catena of decisions of the Full Bench of the Andhra Pradesh and the Gauhati High Courts as also the Division Bench judgments of the High Courts of Guja-rat, Calcutta, Madhya Pradesh, Allahabad, Kerala, Karnataka and Rajasthan. With such a mass of judicial opinion and, indeed, if one may say so, a maze of precedents, it seems not only unnecessary