Clubbing of minors' partnership income applies where the parent remains an individual partner despite acting as HUF karta.

Section 64(ii) was construed to require clubbing of a minor child's share income from admission to partnership where the parent is a partner in his individual capacity, and a karta's status as representative of a Hindu undivided family does not change his character as an individual for this purpose. The court distinguished assessment of the father's own firm income in the hands of the HUF from inclusion of the minors' partnership income in the father's individual assessment. On that basis, the minors' share income was held includible in the assessee's individual total income.

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Issues: Whether the share income of minor sons from a firm in which their father was a partner as karta of a Hindu undivided family could be included in the father's individual assessment under section 64(ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: Section 64 applies to the computation of the total income of an individual and directs inclusion of income arising to the minor child from admission to the benefits of partnership in a firm in which such individual is a partner. The expression "individual" was construed as covering a human assessee in his individual status, and the fact that he also functioned as karta of a Hindu undivided family did not alter that character. The Court distinguished the income assessable in the hands of the Hindu undivided family from the individual's status as a partner for purposes of clubbing the minor children's income. The contrary view taken in earlier and other High Court decisions was not accepted.

Conclusion: The minor sons' share income was rightly included in the assessee's individual income under section 64(ii); the answer was against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered affirmatively, sustaining clubbing of the minors' partnership income in the assessee's individual assessment notwithstanding that the assessee was a partner as karta of his Hindu undivided family.

Ratio Decidendi: For section 64 clubbing, a karta of a Hindu undivided family remains an "individual" in his personal assessable status, and the minors' partnership income from a firm in which he is a partner is includible in his individual assessment even though his own share from the firm is assessed in the hands of the Hindu undivided family.

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