1971 (11) TMI 151

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....hog constitutes business?" The assessee is the managing committee of the temple of Sri Bankey Behari Ji, Brindaban, Mathura. The puja, sewa and bhog of the Deity, Sri Bankey Behari Ji, installed in the temple is looked after by the managing committee constituted under the scheme framed by the Munsif, Mathura. According to the rules and regulations concerning the offering of bhog by worshippers and devotees to the Deity, no one is permitted to make offerings of bhog brought from any place other than the bhog bhandar of the temple. The procedure is that when a devotee or a worshipper comes to the temple, first he goes to the office of the managing committee. There he deposits whatever amount he pleases for bhog. Thereafter he comes to the ....

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.... business of selling sweetmeats. The intention of buying and selling was lacking. There was a revision by the department against the order of the appellate authority. In revision, the judge (Revisions) reversed the order of the appellate authority and restored the order of the Sales Tax Officer. It is, however, important to notice that the judge (Revisions) has not upset the findings of fact recorded by the appellate authority. He has grounded his opinion on a very simple and apparently neat logic. According to him, there are two ingredients of sale, namely, (i) there should be a transfer of property and (ii) the transfer should be for consideration. This is one premise. The other premise is that the sale of bhog was not casual. There wa....

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....ly speaking, the idea behind a contract is of bargain, but here according to the findings recorded by the appellate authority, which have not been upset by the judge (Revisions), there is no bargain at all. Neither the devotees nor the person in charge of the bhog bhandar negotiate and conclude a bargain because there is no settlement about the quantity of bhog which will be offered to the devotee in consideration of the cash received from him. We think that the whole idea of offer and acceptance underlying the contract is absent here. It is difficult to believe that the devotee who enters the portals of the temple in the spirit of utter resignation and submission to the Deity for receiving its blessings and for spiritual bliss would have a....