Hindu undivided family membership cannot be severed by unilateral declaration without a valid partition or legally recognised transfer.

Membership of a Hindu undivided family is determined by sapindaship and family relationship, not by ownership of property. A wife could not sever herself from the HUF by a unilateral declaration or release deed while the marital relationship continued, because severance of status or divesting of family rights requires a legally effective partition, settlement, or transfer recognised in law. A purported release intended to operate as a transfer of property rights also attracts the Transfer of Property Act and the Registration Act, and cannot function as an effective unilateral device to exclude a family member. The declaration was therefore ineffective for wealth-tax purposes, and the wife remained a member of the HUF.

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Issues: Whether a wife who remains married to the karta can sever herself from membership of a Hindu undivided family by a unilateral declaration or release deed, and whether such declaration can be relied upon to alter the status of the family for wealth-tax purposes.

Analysis: Membership of a Hindu undivided family is determined by the Hindu law concept of sapindaship and family relationship, not by ownership of property. A Hindu joint family is not severed merely because one member purports to issue a unilateral declaration; severance of status or divesting of family rights requires a legally effective partition, settlement, or transfer capable of recognition in law. A so-called release or relinquishment deed, if intended to operate as a transfer of rights in property, attracts the requirements of the Transfer of Property Act and the Registration Act and cannot be treated as an effective unilateral device to exclude a married wife from the family. Since the marital tie continued and there was no partition or valid family settlement, the wife remained a member of the Hindu undivided family.

Conclusion: The wife could not sever herself from the Hindu undivided family by a unilateral declaration while continuing as the karta's , and the declaration deed was ineffective for the claimed purpose.

Ratio Decidendi: A member of a Hindu undivided family cannot, by a unilateral declaration or release, sever membership or alter the family status while the marital or familial relationship that constitutes the family continues, unless there is a legally effective partition or transfer recognised in law.

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