Law:

Section:

Firm-Registration-Genuineness-Finding of Tribunal partly based on surmises-Application for Reference to High Court -Proper procedure-Duty of High Court-Income-tax Act (3.'I of 1922), Ss. 26-A and 66 (1).   Where an application is made to the High Court to require the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court the question whether the finding of the Tribunal that a partnership is not genuine is based on any materials or is based on conjectures and surmises the order of the Tribunal must be read as a whole to determine whether every material fact, for and against the assessee, has been considered fairly and with due care ; whether the evidence pro and con has been considered in reaching the final conclusion ; and whether the conclusion reached by the Tribunal has been coloured by irrelevant considerations or matters of prejudice. It is not however necessary that the order of the Tribunal mast be examined minutely, sentence by sentence, so as to discover a minor lapse here or an incautious opinion there to be used as a peg on which to hang an issue of law.   Though the Tribunal would be well-advised to leave out altogether speculation and surmises, the mere fact that the Tribunal has also referred to some additional reasons which may be characterised as surmises, would not give rise to a question of law, if the finding is based on such solid facts that the surmises would not r rake any material difference to the finding.   Dhirafal-Girdharilal v. Commissioner of Income-tax (1954) 26 I T R 736 ; Homi Jehangir Gheesta v. Commissioner of Income-tax (1961) 41 I T R 135 (S C) ; Lalchand Bhagat Ambica Ram v. Commissioner of Income-tax (1959) 37 I T R 288 ; Omar Salay Mohamed Sait v. Commissioner of Income-tax (1959) 37 I T R 151 and Umacharan Shaw & Bros. v. Commissioner of Income-tax (1959) 37 I T R 271 (S C) ref.   JUDGMENT   HIDAYATULLAH, J.-This appeal with special leave has been filed by Messrs Bhaichand Amolukh & Co. (referred to in this judgment as the firm) against the judgment and order of the High Court of Bombay, by which the High Court asked for a reference on a question of law but declined to include therein a…