JUDGMENT :

R.N. Misra, C.J. - Upon the assessee's application u/s 64(2) of the E.D. Act, 1953, this court by order dated January 11,1979, called upon the Appellate Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, to state a case and refer the following questions for the opinion of the court:

(i) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the inclusion of the value of the house property at Rourkela is legal, even though the title to the land was defective and the property was not free from encumbrances?

(ii) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in fixing the valuation of the property at a multiple of 13 times the net rental, even though, admittedly, the department had fixed the valuation at a much lower figure for the purpose of wealth-tax?

One Joginder Singh along with Jai Singh took a lease of certain lands located at Rourkela from Birabar Naik and others who happened to be members of the Scheduled Tribes and the lease was for a term of 99 years. Smt. Prakash Kaur purchased a portion out of the leasehold from Joginder Singh during her lifetime and constructed a building on the said property between 1966