Deductibility of maintenance charge on family property upheld where a valid annual charge supported payment under the income tax law.

Maintenance paid by a Hindu undivided family under a court decree and secured by a valid annual charge on family property was deductible under Section 9(1)(iv) because the charge was enforceable in law and was not a capital charge. The beneficiary's status as a widow and family member did not alter the position, as she had no proprietary interest in the property and only a right to maintenance out of it. The section was applied according to its plain terms, with no exception carved out for a Hindu undivided family. The maintenance payment was therefore allowed as a statutory deduction.

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Issues: Whether maintenance paid by a Hindu undivided family under a court decree and secured by a charge on family property was deductible under Section 9(1)(iv) of the Indian Income Tax Act.

Analysis: The allowance under Section 9(1)(iv) applies where the property is subject to a valid and legal annual charge enforceable in a court of law. The maintenance in question was an annual charge, not a capital charge, and the assessee was bound to pay it under a decree. The fact that the payee was a widow who was a member of the Hindu undivided family did not make the charge one in favour of the assessee itself, because she had no proprietary interest in the family property or income and merely had a right to maintenance out of it. The deduction therefore fell within the plain language of the section, and no exception could be read into it for a Hindu undivided family.

Conclusion: The maintenance payment was properly deductible under Section 9(1)(iv) and the question was answered in the affirmative, in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered by recognising the maintenance charge as a permissible statutory deduction from the income of the Hindu undivided family.

Ratio Decidendi: A maintenance liability secured by a valid and legal annual charge on property is deductible under Section 9(1)(iv), even where the assessee is a Hindu undivided family and the beneficiary is a member of that family without proprietary interest in the property.

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