Partitioned family property assessed in smaller HUF's hands after failed claim of later common hotchpot contribution.

A registered partition deed had disrupted the erstwhile joint family, and recognition of that partition under section 25A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 had already been accepted by the department. On that footing, the claim that the house was later thrown into the common hotchpot of a subsisting Hindu joint family failed because the joint family had already ceased to exist, and the alleged declaration was not proved from the record. The alternative plea that the assessee and his sons held only one-fifth share was also unsupported by the evidence. The property was therefore treated as belonging to the smaller Hindu undivided family consisting of the assessee and his wife, and its income and value were assessed accordingly.

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Issues: Whether the rental income from the house and the value of the house and site were assessable as the property and income of the smaller Hindu undivided family consisting of the assessee and his wife.

Analysis: A registered partition deed had resulted in disruption of the erstwhile joint family and the recognition of partition under section 25A of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 had been accepted by the department. The plea that the house was later thrown into the common hotchpot of a subsisting joint family was negatived, since the joint family had already ceased to exist and the alleged declaration was not proved from the record. The alternative contention that the assessee and his sons held only one-fifth share was also not supported by the material on record.

Conclusion: The property belonged to the smaller Hindu undivided family consisting of the assessee and his wife, and the income and value thereof were rightly assessed in its hands.

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