Deductibility of unmarried daughter's marriage provision from ancestral estate duty burden under Hindu property law

A legally enforceable provision for an unmarried daughter's marriage expenses can be treated as a deductible burden on Hindu ancestral or coparcenary property for estate duty purposes. The text explains that the daughter's right arises under Hindu law independently of the father's personal obligation, that section 27 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 does not abolish that pre-existing right, and that section 44 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 permits deduction of the resulting debt or encumbrance when the deceased died possessed of such property.

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Issues: Whether a reasonable provision made for the marriage expenses of an unmarried daughter of a deceased Hindu is deductible from the principal value of the estate where the estate includes ancestral or coparcenary property.

Analysis: Under Hindu law, an unmarried daughter has an enforceable right against family property for her marriage expenses, and that liability is independent of the father's personal obligation. Section 27 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 does not exhaust or destroy that pre-existing right, since it contemplates enforcement against the father's estate only in specified circumstances when a charge is created. For estate duty purposes, section 44 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 allows deduction of debts and encumbrances, and a liability attached to ancestral or coparcenary property for a daughter's marriage expenses falls within that general deduction provision. The existence of a gift to the daughter and the inclusion of gifted property under section 9 do not negate the separate deductibility of the marriage provision, because the deduction depends on its own legal character and on the presence of ancestral property capable of bearing the liability.

Conclusion: The reasonable provision for the unmarried daughter's marriage expenses was deductible from the principal value of the estate, and the answer to the reference was in favour of the accountable person.

Final Conclusion: Liability of ancestral or coparcenary property for an unmarried daughter's marriage expenses is a deductible estate duty burden when the deceased dies possessed of such property.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a Hindu deceased dies possessed of ancestral or coparcenary property, a legally enforceable provision for an unmarried daughter's marriage expenses constitutes a deductible debt or encumbrance under the estate duty law.

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