Partial partition in an HUF may be valid where family assets are actually divided and documented.

Section 171 of the Income-tax Act does not, on the facts discussed, prevent a Hindu undivided family consisting of a widowed mother and her son from effecting a valid partial partition. The central point is that the family had already been recognised and assessed as an HUF, and the determinative fact was that the assets were in fact divided, with the partition memorandum recording that division. The text treats the existence of the HUF as undisputed and focuses instead on the legal acceptability of the partial partition, concluding that such a partition cannot be rejected merely because the family unit comprises only a mother and son.

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Issues: Whether a partial partition of the Hindu undivided family assets between a widowed mother and her son was valid for the purposes of section 171 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The dispute was not about the existence of the Hindu undivided family, which had been recognised and assessed as such, but about whether a partial partition of its assets could be accepted under section 171. The Court held that section 171 does not require a Hindu undivided family to be barred from effecting a complete or partial partition merely because the family consists of a mother and her son. The decisive consideration was that the family assets had in fact been divided and the partition memorandum reflected that division.

Conclusion: The Tribunal was not right in holding that there could not be a valid partial partition of Hindu undivided family assets between a widowed mother and her son; the question was answered in the negative, in favour of the assessee and against the Department.

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