RAJAMANNAR, C.J.

This is an application under Section 66(3) of the Indian Income-tax Act. The petitioner is the Karta of Hindu undivided family and as such made his return for the assessment year 1944-45. The Income-tax Officer made an assessment by his order dated 25th March, 1949. There was an appeal therefrom to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, who passed his order on 30th April, 1951, reducing the assessment. An appeal was then preferred to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal which was disposed of finally on 19th January, 1953. The notice of the order under sub-section (4) of Section 33 was served upon the petitioner on 31st January, 1953. On 30th March, 1953, the petitioner sent by registered post from Devakottai an application under Section 66(1) of the Income-tax Act requiring the Appellate Tribunal to state a case and refer certain questions of law to this Court. On the same day the request fee of Rs. 100 was sent by money order through the post office at Devakottai to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Madras. The application was received by the office of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal on 31st March, 1953, but the money order was received on 2nd April, 1953, one day late, the last day being 1st April, 1953. The appellate Tribunal rejected the application as barred by time. The Tribunal held that as the money order was received only on 2nd April, 1953, the application should be deemed to have been filed only on that day. Thereupon, the petitioner filed the present application. Section 66(3) of the Act runs thus :-

"If on any application being made under sub-section (1) the Appellate Tribunal rejects it on the ground that it is time-barred, the assessee or the Commissioner, as the case may be, may, within two months from the date on which he is served with notice of the rejection, apply to the High Court, and High Court, if it is not satisfied of the correctness of the Appellate Tribunal's decision, may require the Appellate Tribunal to treat the application as made within the time allowed under sub-section (1)" *

The material portion of Section 66(1) of the Act runs thus :

"Within sixty days of the date upon which he is served with notice of an order under sub-section (4) of Section 33 the assessee or the Commissioner may, by application in the prescribed form, accompanied where application is made by the assessee by fee of one hundred rupees, require the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court any question of law arising out of such order, and the Appellate Tribunal shall within ninety days of the receipt of such application draw up a statement of the case and refer it to the High Court." *

The petitioner contends that the Appellate Tribunal's decision that his application under Section 66(1) was barred by time is not correct.

It is common ground that the Appellate Tribunal had no power to condone the delay, if any, inasmuch as Section 5 of the Limitation Act is not made applicable to an application under Section 66(1), though it has been made applicable to an application under sub-section (2) or (3). The only question, therefore, is whether the Appellate Tribunal was right in holding that the application was barred by time, as the money order was received one day too late.

At the end of the petitioner's application under Section 66(1), he made the following statement :

"Rs. 100 being the application fee is sent by money order today."

There is no dispute as to the fact that on 30th March, 1953, the petitioner did send a money order for Rs. 100 and the coupon attached to the money order form contained a specific reference to the application. It is also not disputed that in the ordinary course the money order dispatched on 30th March from Devakottai would be received in Madras on the succeeding day, 31st March. Indeed, the registered letter sent on the same day did reach the Tribunal's office on 31st March. In these circumstances, the petitioner contends that there has been compliance with the requireme