Law: Income Tax Act, 1922

Section: 41(1)

Income-tax---Association of persons Joint decree for maintenance in favour of assessee and her minor children-Whether share of each determinate and specific-Assessment of decretal amount as income of an association of persons-Whether justified-Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, S. 41(1), proviso. In a suit for maintenance filed by the assessee on behalf of herself and her minor sons and daughters against her husband, the Court directed payment of maintenance at certain rates and also arrears of maintenance. The officer, rejecting the contention of the assessee that under the decree the share of each plaintiff was specific and determinate, assessed the decretal amount treating the assessee and her children as an association of persons. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the Tribunal upheld the assessee as an association of persons. On n reference to the High Court: Held, that, reading the decree as a whole, the maintenance was not given to any of the plaintiffs on the basis of any proportionate share but the plaintiffs were given jointly the right to receive certain sums of money ; the shares of the individual plaintiffs were therefore indeterminate or unknown, and under the proviso to section 41 the assessees could be deemed. to be an association of persons even though they did not associ ate or enter on a joint venture and the assessment of the assessees as an association of persons was right. [Case-law referred.]                                                                                                                                     JUDGMENT SABYASACHE MUKHARJI, J.-This reference arises out of the assessments for two assessment years, i.e., 1955-56 and 1956-57, for which the corresponding accounting periods were the financial years ending 31st March 1955 and 31st March 1956, respectively. The assessees are Smt. Santimoyee…