These are petitions for the issue of writs of prohibition forbidding the first respondent, the Income-tax Officer, Second Circle, Madurai, and the Collector of Madurai from proceeding with the collection of penalties levied against the petitioner by the first respondent for the assessment years 1944-45, 1945-46, 1946-47 and 1947-48, the four petitions relating to the four years mentioned above.

The petitioner is a yarn dealer. Part of his business consists of exports to Ceylon. For the assessment year 1944-45 he submitted a return to the Income-tax authorities claiming a loss of Rs. 23, 891. In regard to the next year, 1945-46, his return disclosed a net profit of Rs. 25, 152. The returns in respect of both the years were taken up for consideration together by the then Income-tax Officer, Madurai, Sri Rathnaswami, who came to the conclusion that the returns of the petitioner should not be accepted and that he had deliberately furnished false particulars regarding his income and after making some additions computed his total income for the year 1944-45 as resulting in a profit of Rs. 3, 914. The tax payable on this income was Rs. 183-15-0 for which a demand notice was iss