JUDGMENT

BRIJLAL GUPTA J. - This Income Tax reference had came to this court on a requisition on application u/s 66(2) of the Act. The questions which have been referred for the opinion of the court are :

"(1) Whether there was any material upon which the Tribunal could find that the assessee was carrying on the business in silver after the partition on the 7th June, 1947 ?

(2) Assuming that the assessee did not carry on the silver business after partition, whether the profits made by him on the sale of the silver was taxable as income in his hands ?

(3) If the answer to question No. 1 or question No. 2 is in the affirmative, then whether the cost price of Rs. 27,710 or the market value of the silver on the date of partition should be taken into account in determining the profit ?"

The material facts are : that the assessee in this case, namely, Messrs. Gangadhar Babulal was assessed to Income Tax in the status of an individual for the assessment year 1946-47. The previous year corresponding to this assessment year is October 16, 1944, to November 6, 1945. Prior to the previous year on June 7, 1943, the assessee who had been up to that time the member of a Hindu undivided family became