ALOKE MITRA Vs. CONTROLLER OF ESTATE DUTY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Central Board of Direct Taxes has submitted this statement of the case as well as a supplementary statement for the opinion of this court on a certain question of law.

(2.) THE reference arises out of the estate duty assessment of late K. M. Mitra, who died on 11th February, 1957. On his death, his son, Aloke Mitra, the present applicant, filed an estate duty return valuing the estate of the deceased at Rs. 3,74,235. This included 502 shares of Rs. 100 each held by the deceased in Mitra Prakashan (P.) Ltd. and 225 shares of Rs. 100 each held by the deceased in Maya Press (P.) Ltd. THE Assistant Controller, however, did not accept this part of the return. He held that 2,002 shares in Mitra Prakashan (P.) Ltd. and 1,602 shares in Maya Press (P.) Ltd. were held by the deceased and were liable to be included in his estate. He held that the shares standing in the name of the deceased's wife and sons were held by the deceased benami in the name of the wife and the sons. Since the wife had no beneficial interest in the shares, she could not be held to have become an absolute owner of these shares on the coming into force of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.

(3.) THE accountable person moved this court under Section 64(2) of the Estate Duty Act. A Bench of this court held that the question whether, on the facts found by the Board, the shares allotted to the wife and sons should be treated as the son's shares or K. M. Mitra's shares, is a question of law, and not just a question of fact. THE contention that if the shares be deemed to be held by the deceased benami in the name of his wife and sons, the deceased had no power to dispose of these shares, was also held to raise a question of law. This court, therefore, directed the Board to draw up a supplementary statement of the case and to refer the following questions of law :