1976 (2) TMI 13

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....were passed for the assessment years 1967-68 to 1969-70, on Prem Gopal Bhandari as the karta of a Hindu undivided family, the original returns were not filed and there was best judgment assessment. Thereupon the said best judgment assessments were set aside. Returns were filed by the Hindu undivided family. Upon the said returns the Income-tax Officer made protective assessment. The only income was income from house property. The impugned notices have been given to the legal heir and representative of Prem Gopal Bhandari on the basis that the income belonged to Prem Gopal Bhandari as individual. In explanation of the ground for issue of the impugned notices the Income-tax Officer, in the affidavit filed in answer to the rule nisi has stated....

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....uare, Lahore, Pakistan, with the H.U.F. fund was produced. At Lahore, these properties were registered in the name of Shri. P. G. Bhandari. (d) Shri. P. G. Bhandari was the son of late Rai Achru Ram who had four sons, viz., Shri. P. G. Bhandari, late Ramgopal Bhandari, late Madangopal Bhandari and late Joygopal Bhandari. P. G. Bhandari stayed in Pakistan up to May, 1969, and thereafter migrated to India. (e) It was observed in the said assessment order that no evidence as to the division of H.U.F. property among four brothers was produced. It was not known how the properties came into possession of P. G. Bhandari to the exclusion of co-sharers. As the properties stood in the name of Shri P. G. Bhandari, Income-tax Officer, Survey Ward, Di....

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....omission or failure on the part of the assessee to make a return in this case or to disclose fully or truly the material or relevant facts. Escapement, if any, was due to the failure of the Income-tax Officer to determine the correct status at the time of assessment. It was submitted that the status was a factor which might be and should have been determined in the assessment proceedings. In aid of this submission, reliance had been placed on the decisions in the case of Gordon Woodroffe & Co. Ltd. v. Income-tax Officer [1964] 51 ITR 12, 17 (Mad) ; in the case of Estate of the Late A. M. K. M. Karuppan Chettiar v. Commissioner of Income-tax [1969] 72 ITR 403 (SC) ; in the case of Sheo Nath Singh v. Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Income....

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....o certain observations of mine where I had observed that the status could be determind in assessment proceeding. That observation, in my opinion, does not mean that if any individual has been assessed under wrong status, the income would not be said to have escaped assessment. In this background I have to consider the reasons as indicated in the affidavit-in-opposition. From the said reasons it could not be said that, prima facie, there is no material for thinking that there is escapement of income due to failure on the part of the assessee to file return in this case. It was secondly contended that the notice had been issued to one heir of the legal representative. That is true. The circumstances under which the notice had been issued to o....