1980 (10) TMI 57

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....ear being the financial year ended March 31, 1967. The assessee along with two other persons, Dr. Dhirajlal Harilal and Dr. Harilal Chandandas, purchased lands bearing survey Nos. 115 and 153 of Acher of Sabarmati, admeasuring 34,729 square yards of land. This purchase was made on October 19, 1946. The total price paid for the land was Rs. 1,39,450 and it was purchased at the rate of Rs. 4 per square yard. The assessee had six annas share in the rupee in the said land. Out of this aggregate area of 34,727 square yards, land admeasuring 16,172 square yards was sold to three co-operative societies on March 17, 1967. The assessee received Rs. 1,32,864 by way of his share in the profits from the sale price paid by the three co-operative societi....

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....ve set out has been referred to us for our opinion. In para. 6 of its order the Tribunal has found as follows: " There appears to be no doubt that when the land was purchased in the year 1946 it was agricultural. The entries made in the record of rights show that the land was cultivated in the years from 1965-66 to 1969-70, and crops of juvar and tuvar, etc., were grown on it. There is documentary evidence in the form of receipts obtained from persons who cultivated the land to prove that it was under cultivation. This documentary evidence has gone unchallenged. It must, therefore, be held that the assessee has succeeded in proving that the land was under cultivation right up to the date of the sale. However, the Tribunal held that....

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....'case [1979] 116 ITR 631, together with the decision of the Supreme Court in Begumpet Palace case (CWT v. Officer-in-Charge (Court of Wards), Paigah [1976] 105 ITR 133, it is clear that if agricultural operations are being carried on on any land in question at the time when the land is sold and further if the entries in the revenue records show that the land in question is agricultural land, then, a presumption arises that the land is agricultural in character and unless that presumption is rebutted by evidence led by the revenue, it must be held that the land was agricultural in character at the time when it was sold. In Manilal Somnath's case [1977] 106 ITR 917 (Guj) this High Court has pointed out that the fact that permission has been o....