SABYASACHI MUKHARJI, J.

( 1 ) IN this reference under Section 256 (1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, we are concerned with the jurisdiction and exercise of the discretion by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. In order to appreciate the questions referred to, this court it is necessary to refer to certain facts. The assessment relates to the assessment year 1961-62, the previous year being the financial year ending on March 31, 1961. For the said year the assesses had disclosed an income of Rs. 6,000 in his return, stating that such income was derived by him as a broker. But since no books of account had been maintained, the Income-tax Officer estimated the brokerage income at Rs. 8,000 on the basis of past records. The assessee, however, had opened an account with the Chartered Bank as far back as 1948 but from the bank's statements the Income-tax Officer could see that the account was not operated from the 1st November, 1956, to 31st May, 1960, and the balance in the account thereafter was about Rs. 500. On 30th May, 1960, the assessee had made a deposit of Rs. 30,000 in the said bank account and on the same date he drew a cheque of an equivalent amount for the alleged purpose o

Click Here to Read the rest of this document