ARUNA GROUP OF ESTATES Vs. STATE OF MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Agricultural Income -tax Officer, Batlagunda, refused registration of a firm under section 27 of the Madras Agricultural Income -tax Act for the agricultural income -tax year 1957 -58 in respect of a firm alleged to consist of 15 partners, of whom one was a minor entitled only for the benefits of the partnership. This decision was affirmed both by the Assistant Commissioner of Agricultural Income -tax, Madurai, and the Agricultural Income -tax Appellate Tribunal, Madras. In this tax revision case the correctness of the said decision is challenged The facts that led to the application for registration are quite simple and are not in controversy. Aruna Group Estates, Bodinaickanur, is the name of a firm and the firm was originally constituted with five partners who had entered into a partnership agreement, dated 13th April, 1950. The firm owned plantations of cardamom and other agricultural and horticultural products. The names of the partners and their respective shares were as detailed below

(2.) NUMBERS 2, 3 and 15 are the sons of A. S. Subbaraj. The original share of A. S. Subbaraj, namely, 7/12, was claimed to have been divided equally in a family partition between Subbaraj and his three sons. Numbers 4 and 5 were already partners and they retained their previous shares of 1/12 each. Numbers 6 to 9 are the sons of A. S. Suppan Chettiar, partner No. 4 in the previous partnership, and they claimed to have obtained the share of Suppan Chettiar equally amongst themselves by reason of Suppan Chettiar having renounced his share in the partnership. No. 10 was one of the original partners and numbers 11 to 14 are the brothers and nephew of No. 10, Mallayyan Chettiar. Numbers 10 to 14 were members of a Hindu undivided family and they claimed to have acquired 1/30 share each as a result of the family division of the 2/12th share of Mallayan Chettiar in the original partnership

(3.) IT is to be noted that this partition deed expressly provides for the continuation and preservation of the 7/12th share in Aruna Group Estates as an undivided family asset In the partnership deed, dated 23rd November, 1955, of which registration was sought there is definite declaration that Subbaraj and his three sons are each entitled only to a 7/48th share. The preamble to that document recites