RATNAM J.

These writ petitions praying for the issue of writs of prohibition at the instance of the Coimbatore Club (hereinafter referred to as "the club") challenge the legality and validity of the notice issued by the WTO, City Circle 1(2), Coimbatore, the respondent herein, to the club under s. 16(2) of the W.T. Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), for the assessment years 1972-73 to 1976-77. Earlier, notices under s. 17 of the Act, had been issued to the club on the ground that for the assessment years mentioned above, the assessable net wealth of the club had escaped assessment and the club was called upon to deliver returns of its net wealth for the years in question chargeable to tax together with other particulars. The club sent a reply stating that on the abolition of wealth-tax on companies from the assessment year 1960-61 onwards, wealth-tax is chargeable only on individuals and HUFs and as the club did not fall within these categories of assessable units or entities, it is not liable to be assessed to wealth-tax. The club also put forward the objection that it could not be included within the expression "individual" occurring in s. 3 of the Act a