JUDGMENT
R.K. Abichandani, J.
The Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench ‘B’, has referred the following question for’ the opinion of this court :
“Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the assessee is entitled to in law to the relief under section 80U of the Income Tax Act, 1961?”
2. The assessee has claimed relief under section 80U of the Income Tax Act, 1961, under which, in the case of physically handicapped persons, deduction of a sum of Rs. 10,000 was permissible at the relevant time. The Income Tax Officer rejected the claim, but the Appellate Assistant Commissioner allowed the same. The Tribunal, following the decision of Indore Bench in the case of Anand Prakash Saksena v. ITO (1983) 3 ITD 152 (Ind-Trib) and the decision rendered by it in Bhagwatiptasad P. Parikh, held that the assessee was entitled to the deduction under section 80U of the said Act and confirmed the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.
3. It is pointed out to us that Bhagwatiprasad P. Parikh’s case (supra) was taken to the High Court and by decision of this court in CIT v. Bhagwatiprasad P. Parikh (1999) 239 ITR 645 (Guj), it was held that the fact that the person has a substantial income by itself cannot be a criteria for determining whether the disease or the disability with which the person is suffering has resulted in reducing his capacity to gainful employment. In the present case, there is no dispute over the fact that the assessee suffered from deafness to the extent that he could not hear from a distance of 2-3 feet even with the help of a hearing-aid. Following the ratio of the decision in CIT v. Bhagwatiprasad P. Parikh (supra), we hold that the assessee was entitled in law to the relief under section 80U of the Act. The question referred to us is, therefore, answered in affirmative in favour of the assessee. The reference stands disposed of accordingly with no order as to costs.
OPEN