Referable question of law rejected where firm registration dispute turned purely on facts and no reference was warranted.

The High Court held that the Tribunal's refusal to refer the issue of registration of the assessee-firm did not raise a referable question of law under section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The proposed reference concerned whether the Appellate Tribunal was justified in directing registration, but the Court found that the Tribunal had considered the legal position and the evidence in the proper perspective. Because the issue turned purely on facts, the attempt to recast it as a mixed question of law and fact was rejected, and the request for a reference was refused.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal's refusal to refer the question of registration of the assessee-firm gave rise to a referable question of law under section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The application sought a reference on whether the Appellate Tribunal was justified in directing registration of the assessee-firm. On the material placed before it, the Court found that the Tribunal had considered both the legal position and the evidence in the proper perspective. The proposed question was held to turn purely on facts, and the attempt to characterise it as a mixed question of law and fact was not accepted.

Conclusion: No referable question of law arose, and the application for directing a reference was rejected.

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