TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2005 (4) TMI 13
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....ect in holding that the assessee was not 'totally blind' in keeping in view the clear finding of the doctor that the assessee is a blind person?" The reference relates to the assessment year 1982-83. The assessee is a partner in M/s. Bombay Motor Stores and enjoyed share income from the aforesaid firm. The deduction of a sum of Rs. 10,000 was claimed by the assessee under section 80U of the Act which was refused by the Income-tax Officer on the ground that the assessee was not "totally blind". It may be stated here that the assessee in support of his claim for deduction under section 80U of the Act, filed a medical certificate of the Institute of Medical Sciences, B.H.U., Varanasi. The Income-tax Officer on a perusal of the certificate c....
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.... blind and, therefore, the authorities below were justified to deny deduction under section 80U of the Act. We have considered the respective submissions of learned counsel for the parties. We find that section 80U was introduced in the statute book for the first time by the Finance Act, 1968. The original section 80U reads as follows: "80U. Deduction in the case of blind persons.- In computing the total income of an individual, being a resident, who is totally blind as at the end of the previous year, there shall be allowed a deduction of a sum of two thousand rupees: Provided that such individual produces before the Income-tax Officer, in respect of the first assessment year for which deduction is claimed under this section, a ce....
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....condly, he is a blind person. Learned counsel for the applicant has placed reliance upon the sentence certified by the doctor that the applicant is a blind person. On the other hand learned standing counsel has submitted that the vision of the applicant, as per medical report is limited to hand movement only and, as such, he cannot be classified as totally blind person. In the above book Ophthalmology "blindness" has been defined in the following manner: "Definition of blindness. - Different definitions and terms for blindness such as total blindness, economic blindness, legal blindness and social blindness are in vogue in different countries. So much so that 65 definitions of blindness are listed in a WHO publication (1966). In ophth....
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....ho is unable to perceive light. Total blindness does not mean that the person is totally unaffected by the happening around his surrounding. Judicial notice of this notorious fact can be taken into account that when one of the senses out of five senses of an individual is impaired or totally lost the other senses by nature, become stronger. A person who is blind, his other senses become more active or sensitive and they can spell out more accurately from the remaining four senses than an ordinary person. Experience shows that a blind person is able to recognize an individual more accurately from the individual's voice, sound or footstep. Therefore, if the applicant is able to perceive from the hand movement it cannot be said that the said p....