Minor sons' partnership share income could not be taxed in the father's hands after final partition findings.

Where a family partition and division of capital account in partnership interests had already been recognised in final wealth-tax proceedings, the minors' attributable share in those partnership interests could not be brought to tax in the father's hands merely because he had received the partnership income in full. The Madras HC treated the earlier findings as final and held that only the father's own share income was assessable in his assessments; the minors' share income was not includible.

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Issues: Whether the share income of the minor sons from the partnership firms could be included in the assessments of the father for the assessment years 1968-69, 1969-70 and 1970-71.

Analysis: The family partition and the division of the capital account in the partnership interests had already been recognised in earlier wealth-tax proceedings. Those wealth-tax findings had been affirmed and had attained finality. On that basis, the minors' attributable share in the partnership interests could not be treated as the income of the father merely because he had been receiving the partnership income in full.

Conclusion: The minors' share income was not includible in the father's assessments, and only his own share could be assessed in his hands.

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