Release deed does not end female membership in a Hindu joint family for wealth-tax status.

A female member of a Hindu joint family does not cease to be a member merely by executing a release deed relinquishing rights in joint family property. Membership arises from family relationship, not from ownership of property or an enforceable claim to it; a female member is not a coparcener and has no right to demand partition, while maintenance and, for unmarried daughters, marriage expenses are incidental to membership. On that basis, relinquishment of property rights does not by itself sever membership of the joint family. The release deed therefore did not end Jayamma's status as a member of the Hindu undivided family, and the issue was answered against the assessee.

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Issues: Whether a female member of a Hindu joint family ceases to be a member of the family by executing a release deed relinquishing her rights in the joint family properties, so that the family cannot be treated as a specified Hindu undivided family for wealth-tax purposes.

Analysis: Membership of a Hindu joint family does not depend on ownership of, or an enforceable claim over, the joint family properties. A female member is not a coparcener and has no right to demand partition, but her status as a member of the family arises from her relationship with the male members of the family. The rights to maintenance and, in the case of unmarried daughters, marriage expenses are incidental to such membership and do not constitute the source of membership itself. Therefore, relinquishment of property rights by a female member does not, by itself, sever her membership of the joint family.

Conclusion: The release deed did not terminate Jayamma's status as a member of the Hindu undivided family. The question was answered in the affirmative and against the assessee.

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