Benami ownership and estate duty: property in the wife's name was excluded from the deceased's estate.

Section 10 of the Estate Duty Act applies only where property shown in the deceased's name can, on the facts, be treated as benami and therefore as part of the deceased's estate. The Tribunal found no evidence that the cashew factory standing in the wife's name was held benami for the deceased, and that finding was not displaced by the mere inclusion of income or value in other assessment proceedings. On that footing, the Rs. 85,000 could not lawfully be included in the estate for duty purposes, and the deletion of that amount was upheld against the Revenue.

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Issues: Whether the inclusion of Rs. 85,000 in the deceased's estate was justified under section 10 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 when the property stood in the name of the wife and no benami character was established.

Analysis: Section 10 applies only where the property is shown, on the facts, to have a benami character so that it can be treated as property of the deceased passing on death. The Tribunal found no evidence that the cashew factory was held benami for the deceased. The material showed that the property stood in the wife's name from inception, and the finding of non-benami ownership was not displaced. In those circumstances, the mere inclusion of income or value in other assessment proceedings did not establish that the property formed part of the deceased's estate for estate duty purposes.

Conclusion: The deletion of Rs. 85,000 from the estate was in law, and the answer is against the Revenue and in favour of the accountable person.

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