RAMANUJAM J.

At the instance of the Revenue, the following two questions have been referred to this court by the Tribunal for our opinion :

"1. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that the capital gains realised by the assessee on the transfer of lands on July 19, 1967, in favour of M/s. Educational Trust Company Private Ltd. was not assessable in the hands of the assessee for the assessment year 1969-70 ?

2. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that the only previous year in which the surplus from the transfer of lands which took place on July 19, 1967, will had to be considered would be the financial year April 1, 1967, to March 31, 1968, relevant to the assessment year 1968-69 ?" *

The assessee, in this case, is a company which publishes a Tamil daily newspaper known as "Nellai Murasu". For the assessment year 1969-70, the assessee filed a return of income on July 1, 1969, showing the previous year as ending on June 30, 1968. In the profit and loss account panting the return, the assessee had shown for the year ended June 30, 1968, not o