Hindu females cannot form joint family for tax purpose -- SC

Hindu females cannot form joint family for tax purpose -- SC
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, MAR 1: The Supreme Court has held that Hindu females cannot among themselves form a Hindu joint family by means of an agreement and claim concesssion in their incomes from inherited properties.

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In a recent judgement, it said the concept of Hindu women forming among themselves an undivided family appeared alien to Hindu Personal Law, which required the presence of a male for the purpose of constitution of a joint family.

A Bench comprising Justice S P Bharucha, Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice Y K Sabharwal allowing an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Income Tax, Bihar, said "The principal question that we are concerned with here is the capacity of Hindu females to form among themselves a Hindu undivided family.

"No authorities to support this have been brought to our notice; indeed they cannot be, for the concept appears to us to be alien to the Hindu personal law which requires the presence of a male for the purpose of the constitution of a Hindu undivided family," it said.

One Sandhya Rani Dutta claimed before the income tax authorities that her share of the inherited property had been thrown into the kitty of a Hindu undivided family.

The case went up to the High Court, which said that there was no bar on the constitution of an Hindu undivided family in respect of properties inherited by the heirs, whether male or female, of a Hindu governed by the Dayabhaga School dying intestate by throwing an ascertained share into the hotchpot by ageement. The apex Court reversed this order.