RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, J. - (1.)THE short question raised in the appeal filed by the Revenue is whether the Tribunal was justified in holding that in order to transfer a file by an Assessing Officer to another Assessing Officer to assess an assessee based on information gathered in search conducted on the premises of another assessee, the Officer transferring the file should record his satisfaction about the undisclosed income to be assessed at the hands of other assessee under Section 158BD of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the Act for short).
(2.)WE have heard learned Senior Standing Counsel Shri.P.K.R.Menon appearing for the Revenue and Shri.Arun Raj, learned counsel appearing for the respondent assessee.
Facts leading to the controversy are the following:- The assessee and his wife are running a clinic at Adimali. In the course of search conducted in the premises of a Company by name M/s.Eastern Retreads (P) Ltd., in which the assessee's son was a Director, the Department found evidence of undisclosed income of the assessee. The Assessing Officer who searched the Company did not have jurisdiction to assess the assessee, and therefore, the file was transferred to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over the assessee for assessment under Section 158BD read with Section 158BC for assessing undisclosed income. The first round litigation ended up in Annexure C judgment of this Court, wherein the matter was remanded to the Tribunal for reconsideration. Even though in the first round, the assessee had not raised a contention that assessment under Section 158BC read with Section 158BD was made without the transferring officer recording his satisfaction about the undisclosed income of the assessee, which according to the assessee invalidates the assessment, after the remand the assessee raised such a contention which was accepted by the Tribunal; and assessment was accordingly cancelled. It is against this order, the Revenue has filed this Appeal.

(3.)SINCE the question to be considered is whether in the absence of satisfaction recorded by the Assessing Officer transferring the file to another Officer under Section 158BD the assessment completed under Section 158BC read with Section 158BD is invalid, we have to necessarily consider the scope of Section 158BD, for which the Section is extracted hereunder:-
"158BD. Undisclosed income of any other person Where the Assessing Officer is satisfied that any undisclosed income belongs to any person, other than the person with respect to whom search was made under Section 132 or whose books of account or other documents or any assets were requisitioned under Section 132A, then, the books of account, other documents or assets seized or requisitioned shall be handed over to the Assessing Officer having jurisdiction over such other person and that Assessing Officer shall proceed (under Section 158BC) against such other person and the provisions of this Chapter shall apply accordingly."