1. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (Chandigarh Bench) has referred the following questions of law for our opinion :

"1. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the initiation of reassessment proceedings under Section 147(a) was valid as the Income-tax Officer hat1 reasons to estimate the escaped income at Rs. 83,675?

2. If the answer to question (1) be in the affirmative then whether the assessment was validly made because the ultimate assessed income was Rs. 34,504 ?

3. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the reopening of the assessment was permissible under Section 34 of the old Act of 1922, in view of the finding that the estimate of total escaped income was more than Rs. 1 lakh ?"

2. The status of the assessee is of a Hindu undivided family. At the relevant time it consisted of Jairam Dass and his sons, Madan Lal, Sri Kishan, Rattan Lal, Mohan Lal and Om Parkash, along with the sons of Banwari Lal, brother of Jairam Dass, namely, Ram Sarup, Ram Bhagat and Ram Kumar. In the present reference we are only concerned with the assessment for the year 1947-48, In this year the assessee was assessed to tax on the income of Rs. 16,53