Reference to High Court maintained where reversed precedent made includibility of life interest and reversionary interest a live question of law.

Applications under the Wealth-tax Act for reference to the High Court were held maintainable because the proposed question on includibility of the value of life interest and reversionary interest in net wealth was a live question of law. The Tribunal had treated the issue as academic on the basis of an earlier High Court decision, but that decision had since been reversed by the Supreme Court. The applications were allowed and the Tribunal was directed to state the case and refer the formulated question for the High Court's opinion.

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Issues: Whether the applications under section 27(3) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 for reference to the High Court were maintainable and whether the proposed question of law, relating to includibility of the value of life interest and reversionary interest in the assessee's net wealth, required a reference.

Analysis: The Tribunal had declined to make a reference on the view that the issue was covered by an earlier decision of the High Court and that a reference would be merely academic. The earlier decision had since been reversed by the Supreme Court, and therefore the question proposed by the Revenue was a live question of law arising out of the Tribunal's order.

Conclusion: The applications were allowed and the Tribunal was directed to state the case and refer the formulated question of law to the High Court for opinion.

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