DELHI COTTON AND GENERAL MILLS CO Vs. INCOME TAX COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions are each of them for special leave to appeal from orders made by the High Court of Judicature at Lahore on references to that Court under Section 66(2) of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1922, In each case the sum in dispute exceeds Rs. 10,000. In each the order in question was made before April 1, 1926- that in the first of the two cases being of date January 12, 2 926, and that in the second having been made on January 6, 192(3, In each case, also, the High Court refused to certify that the case was a fit one for appeal to His Majesty in Council. With these facts for its foundation, an interesting argument was addressed to the Board upon the nature of the statutory appeal in such cases as these, and upon the question whether in the present instances there is any such appeal at all.

(2.) The learned Judges of the High Court were of opinion that the petitioners had a right of appeal to His Majesty in Council provided they could in effect, bring their cases within the requirements of Section 109(o) of the Civil P. C., but not other- wise. They dealt with the applications for certificates on that footing, and they dismissed them. Hence the present petition.

(3.) At the hearing before the Board the view of the High Court was resolutely challenged by the petitioners. It sufficed, it was contended, that the cases should fall within the requirements of Section 110 of the Code; the petitioners right of appeal was in no way conditional on compliance with the requirements of Section 109(c). The respondents, on the other hand, supported, as applied to the general case, the view of the, High Court, but contended that, for the petitioners hen, there was, for reasons which will appear in the sequel, no statutory right of appeal at all.