( 1 ) THE petitioner, Hazari Lal, has invoked the power of this Court under Article 226 of the constitution for issue of a writ of certiorari to quash a notice issued under Section 34 of the income Tax Act by the opposite-party to him on 4-1-1956, and for issue of a writ of prohibition directing the opposite party to refrain from taking proceedings for re-assessment of the petitioner for the assessment year 1946-47. The petitioner was a partner in Firm Hazari Lal Babu Lal at kanpur which was registered under Section 26-A of the Income-tax Act. He was an assessee in his personal capacity and for the year 1946-47 an assessment order under Section 23 (3) of the income Tax Act was passed in his case on 31-8-1946. For the following assessment year 1947-48 the order of assessment under Section 23 (3) of the Act was passed on 30-9-1947. On 15-1-1946, the wife of the petitioner purchased a house by means of a registered sale deed for a total price of Rs. 19,500/-, out of which Rs. 500/- had been paid as earnest money on 20-12-1945, and the balance of Rs. 19000/-was paid on the 15th of January, 1946, at the time of execution of the sale deed. The opposite-party, receiving information of the document, issued a notice under Section 34 (1) (a) of the Income-tax Act on 27-3-1952, to the petitioner in respect of his assessment for the year 1947-48 and, following up that notice, he made a fresh assessment on 25-2-1953, by adding a sum of Rs. 12,800/- to the income which was originally assessed under the assessment order dated 30-9-1947. The petitioner objected to this re-assessment of his income under Section 234 for the year 1947-48 but that objection was disregarded. The petitioner then went up in appeal. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax, by his order dated 20-7-1955, accepted the appeal and deleted the addition which had been made in the income for the assessment year 1947-48. He further gave direction to the Income-tax Officer to revise the assessment in the light of that order. When Riving this decision, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax noticed the fact that the purchase of the house by the wife of the petitioner had taken place on 25-1-1946, and the entire consideration had been paid by that date, so that the previous year available for the investment of the income, which had been made and completed on 15-1-1946, was the financial year 1945-46. The financial year 1945-48 was not the previous year for the assessment year 1947-48 in respect of which the notice under Section 34 had been issued in pursuance of which this amount had been taxed as income in the hands of the petitioner. On this view, the Appellate Assistant commissioner of Income-tax held that this addition of Rs. 12,800/- in the assessment for the year 1947-48 was without any justification. On receipt of this order of the Appellate Assistant commissioner of Income-tax, the opposite party, in addition to giving effect to that order by revising the assessment for the year 1947-48, issued/a notice under Section 34 (1) (a) of the income-tax Act to the petitioner for re-assessment of Ms income for the assessment year 1946-47. This notice under Section 34 in respect of the assessment year 1943-47 was issued on 4-1-1956. The petitioner objected to the issue of this notice, principally, on the ground that it was barred by time, so that the Income Tax Officer had no jurisdiction to take proceedings against the petitioner for the assessment year 1946-47. The reply to that objection was sent by the Income tax Officer on 24-7-1956, stating that the proceedings were legal and could not be dropped. Thereupon, this petition was moved by the petitioner on 30-8-1956. In these circumstances, the question, that principally arises for decision by us, is whether the notice dated 4-1-1956, issued by the opposite party to the petitioner in respect of the assessment year 1946-47 was or was not barred by time.

( 2 ) THE ordinary period within which a notice under