COMMISSIONER OF GIFT TAX Vs. PRINCESS HARSHAD KUMARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE only question of law referred to this Court by the Tribunal in this case is :

(2.) THE assessee, Princess Harshad Kumari, gifted Rs. 1,00,000 to her husband, Narhari Singh, in the previous year relevant to the asst. year 1961 62. She claimed and was allowed exemption in respect thereof under S. 5(1)(viii) of the GT Act. A few years thereafter, she had to take a divorce from her first husband. She contracted a second marriage with one Rahul Kumar Sharma on December 18, 1970. Some time thereafter, i.e., on March 20, 1971, she gifted another sum of Rs. 1,00,000 to her second husband. The exemption limit under S. 5(1)(viii) at the material time was Rs. 50,000. Therefore, she claimed that her gift to her second husband to the extent of Rs. 50,000 was exempt under S. 5(1) (viii).

(3.) SHRI Jetley, learned counsel for the Department, contended that the interpretation placed by the Tribunal on the provisions of section 5(1)(viii) was not correct. It was discriminatory inasmuch as while gifts made to more than one wife would be aggregated, gifts made to more than one husband would not be aggregated. According to him, what is applicable in the case of wives was equally applicable in the case of the husbands. The submission is without any merit. Sec. 5(1)(viii) of the GT Act reads thus :