BANERJEE, J.

1. This reference under s. 66(1) of the Indian IT Act has been made in circumstances hereinafter stated.

2. IT is well-known that, in the year 1947, the Taxation on Income (Investigation Commission) Act was passed "for the purpose of ascertaining whether the actual incidence of taxation on income is and has been in recent years in accordance with the provisions of law, and the extent to which the existing law and procedure for the assessment and recovery of such taxation is adequate to prevent the evasion thereof, to make provision for an investigation to be made into such matters." Sec. 5(1) of the Act invested the Central Government with power to refer particular cases or points in a case to the commission for investigation and report, if the Central Government was of the opinion that there had been substantial evasion of income-tax payment in such cases. Similarly, if in the course of an investigation under s. 5(1), the commission had reasons to believe that some person other than the one whose case was being investigated evaded payment of income-tax or that points other than those referred to it required investigation, the commission was authorised, under s