RAY, J. - (1.) THE following questions of law have been referred : "(1) Whether the pollarding and coppicing a carried out by the assessee amounted to agricultural operations within the meaning of s. 2(1) of the Act ? (2) If the answer to the above question be in the affirmative, whether, in order that the assessee could claim exemption from tax on the ground that the income from tendu leaves was agricultural income, it was necessary that he should have had some interest in the lands concerned ? and (3) If the answer to the foregoing question be also in the affirmative, whether the assessee had, under the documents under which he collected the tendu leaves, an interest in the lands concerned and whether the income from the same could be held to be income derived from such lands ?"
(2.) THE assessee deals in tendu (bidi) leaves which are used, to roll up tobacco in the manufacture of bidis. THE said leaves grow in forests. THE assessee took on lease certain forests from the State Government, the then Indian Native States, zamindaries and malguzaries, for the purpose of its business. THE assessee conceded before us that pollarding was not an agricultural operation but contended that coppicing was so. As to what is coppicing operation will appear according to the statement of the assessee set out at p. 93 of the paper-book and counsel for the assessee relied on items Nos. marked 1, 2, 5; 6 and 7. The said items Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 are as follows : "(1) Cutting out of the tendu plants, by at shovel and axe to about 3 inches below the ground level and prodding and relaying of the earth, to give fresh feed to the plant, to make better off -shoots, known in forestry as coppicing. This is the first process before ore the actual start of the season. (2) Taking proper care of the off-shoots from the root-suckers, by strengthening and making them firm in the ground by tamping, earth round about the root-suckers, and giving them proper feed and making them active, without which, the plants die down. (5) While coppicing, earth is prodded and relaid, and the forest fire-ashes and dried up fallen leaves are stored at the plant base, thus manuring the plants and giving them proper nourishment to grow better. (6) The above processes have to be adopted to safeguard the plants, to give them proper feed, to remain alive, and yield more leaves. (7) Due to untimely clouds and weather conditions, tendu plants get diseased and with a view to save their life and yield, coppicing processes have to be repeated when the weather is clear and thus a new feed and nourishment is provided to the planets." Before the Tribunal the assessee contended that coppicing is an operation on the land as the roots of the plants are cut even below the surface. The Tribunal held flat coppicing operations were not on the land but on the plants.
(3.) COUNSEL for the CIT contended, first, that the Tribunal found as a fact that the operations described as coppicing were not operations on the land and were not therefore agricultural operations within the meaning of s. 2(1) of the IT Act, and, secondly, that the coppicing operations claimed by the assessee to be agricultural operations were not so, in view of the recent decisions of the Supreme Court to which I shall now refer. Counsel for the assessee contended that the finding of the Tribunal was a legal inference from facts and therefore it was open to the assessee to impeach the conclusion as perverse or wrong inference. I am unable to accept the contention of the assessee. The operations claimed by the assessee to be agricultural operations have been examined by the Tribunal and the finding is that no operations on the land were carried out.;