Joint co-ownership and housing-loan interest deduction must be equally apportioned where no specific shares are stated in the sale deed.

Where a house property is jointly purchased by four co-owners and the sale deed does not specify separate shares, the presumption under section 45 of the Transfer of Property Act is that the co-owners hold equal interests. The housing-loan interest deduction under section 24(b) must therefore be apportioned equally among them, and in the absence of evidence that one co-owner alone funded the acquisition or construction, a claim to the entire interest deduction is not supportable. The concurrent factual findings supporting this apportionment were not shown to be perverse or based on misreading of evidence.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to claim deduction of the entire housing loan interest under section 24(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, or only 25% thereof in view of the property being jointly purchased by four co-owners with no specified shares in the sale deed.

Analysis: The property was purchased by four persons and the housing loan was also taken jointly by them. The sale deed did not specify individual shares. In the absence of evidence that the assessee alone had contributed for purchase or construction, section 45 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 attracted the presumption that the co-owners held equal interests in the property. On that basis, the housing-loan interest claimed under section 24(b) had to be apportioned equally among the four co-owners. The concurrent findings of the Assessing Officer, the Commissioner (Appeals), and the Tribunal were supported by the material on record and were not shown to be perverse or based on misreading of evidence.

Conclusion: The restriction of the assessee's deduction to 25% of the total interest was in law and on facts, and the issue was decided against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

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