Hindu undivided family maintenance exemption upheld for a mother receiving allowance from joint family property.

Maintenance allowance received by a mother out of joint family property in the hands of her son, who managed an impartible estate as family manager, was treated as a receipt by a member of the Hindu undivided family. The estate, though governed by primogeniture, retained the relevant character of joint family property, and the mother's right to maintenance arose from the family relationship rather than any mere gratuity. On that footing, the allowance fell within the exemption under Section 14(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act.

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Issues: Whether maintenance allowance received by a mother from the income of an ancestral impartible estate held by her son as manager under the Court of Wards was exempt under Section 14(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act as a receipt by a member of a Hindu undivided family.

Analysis: The allowance was not a mere gratuitous payment. The assessee was held to be a member of the joint family, and the impartible estate, though subject to the custom of primogeniture, retained the character of joint family property in the relevant legal sense. The right of maintenance of a mother is a legal right arising from the family relationship, and where maintenance is paid out of joint family property in the hands of the son, the receipt is by virtue of membership of the Hindu undivided family. The reasoning was supported by prior authority holding that maintenance paid out of joint family or impartible estate income, where received as of right, falls within the statutory exemption.

Conclusion: The maintenance allowance was exempt from taxation under Section 14(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act.

Ratio Decidendi: A maintenance payment received as of right by a member of a Hindu undivided family out of joint family property in the hands of the family manager is a receipt as such member and is exempt under Section 14(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act.

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