COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX Vs. L BALASUBRAMANIAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AT the instance of the Revenue, the following common question of law has been referred to this court by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal for its opinion."Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was right in holding that the assessee should be assessed in the status of a Hindu undivided family in respect of the income derived from the properties got by him on partition between him and his two brothers and which properties were originally purchased by the assessee's grandfather in the joint names of the assessee and his brothers ?" *The assessee in T.C. Nos. 506 to 508 of 1979 is one L. Balasubramaniam and the relevant assessment years are 1972-.73 to 1974-.75.

(2.) THE assessee in T C. Nos. 527 to 529 of 1979 is one L. Borai Gowder and the relevant assessment years are 1972-.73 to 1974-.75. THE assessees in the above cases are brothers. THE assessees' grandfather, one Boraiah Gowder, had purchased from time to time agricultural lands in Konnamalai and Sethiamangalam villages in the joint names of the above assessees and their brother, L. Shanmugam, between 1944 to 1949. As the three brothers were minors at the time of such purchases, they were represented, respectively, by their father, Lingappa Gowder, mother Rajammal and Lingammal, wife of Muniappa Gowder, and the assessees' father's elder brother. THE grandfather died in 1949. Properties were continued to be purchased in favour of the said three minors until the year 1955. All these properties were subsequently divided between the three brothers under a partition deed dated October 15, 1972, registered on January 30, 1973.

(3.) THUS far, the view of the Tribunal cannot be taken exception to. The Tribunal then proceeds to say that as there is no intention in the various sale deeds that the properties purchased by the assessees' grandfather jointly in the names of the assessees and their brother are to be held by them as their self-acquired properties and as the other recitals in the sale deeds indicate that the properties are to be enjoyed from son to grandson hereditarily, thereby implying that the properties are to be enjoyed by the minors as joint family properties and as the preamble to the partition deed shows that the properties have been impressed with the character of joint family properties before the partition took place between the three brothers and as, in any event, the filing of return by the assessee in the status of a HUF for the assessment year 1971-.72 shows that the properties had been impressed with the character of joint family properties, the assessee has to be assessed in the status of HUF.