Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta, J. - (1.) All these three matters are taken up for hearing and being disposed of by this common judgment and order as the facts and the law involved therein are identically same.
(2.) The grievance of the petitioner in all these cases is that the concerned Assessing Officer has no authority or jurisdiction to reopen the assessment under Section 147(a) since there was no material to have reason to believe that the petitioners did not disclose the material fact and the income which has escaped from assessment. There is an interim order in all the three matters till today. In this kind of cases the only point to be considered is whether any reason has been disclosed by the Assessing Officer or not. It appears that in the affidavit-in-opposition purported reasons have been disclosed by the officer concerned. The reason, according to him, is that the petitioner did not truly and correctly show the cost of construction in the books of account. After more than four years the officer concerned had entertained the belief that the aforesaid disclosure of cost of construction of the multi-storied building is not true and correct. Therefore, he obtained an opinion from the engineer who opined that the cost of the construction would be around Rs. 14,78,000 (fourteen lakhs seventy-eight thousand) as against the cost of Rs. 7,55,313 (seven lakhs fifty-five thousand three hundred thirteen) shown in the books of account.
(3.) Mr. Khaitan assailing the aforesaid reason contends that the opinion of an engineer cannot be a material to entertain any belief that the petitioner has escaped income. Therefore, the authority concerned ought not to have reopened the assessment already done. In support of his submission, he has relied on a decision of this court in Tarawati Debi Agarwal v. ITO [1986] 162 ITR 606. Placing the aforesaid authority he contends that factually both the cases are identical and the learned judge did not accept the aforesaid opinion to be a foundation for issuance of the notice under Section 147(a).;