The petitioners are four partners of a firm named Mohammedaly Sarafaly & Co., Madras, which was carrying on business in hardware, stocks, shares, etc. For the assessment years 1942-43 to 1945-46 this firm was treated as a registered firm under the Indian Income-tax Act and therefore the partners were assessed on their respective shares of the profits from the business of the firm. All assessments were completed before 1949 and total income for the purpose of assessment for those four years was about Rs. 29,00,000. In 1955 the petitioners under a 'Voluntary Disclosure Scheme' with regard to profits which had escaped assessment made a disclosure of their income and proceedings were taken under s. 34 of the Income- tax Act. In the month of April, 1959, there was a reassessment on all the four partners and the total income for the four assessment years thus came to about Rs. 35 lakhs which included Rs. 29 lakhs already assessed. On that income, income-tax, super-tax, and surcharge were levied. The surcharge, according to the petition was Rs. 3,82,791. It is this surcharge which is impugned as being without the authority of law inasmuch as the then Federal Legislature, it is submitted, was not competent to levy the surcharge.
