Incomplete factual record prevented answer on impartible estate status, so the matter was remitted for fresh findings.

A reference court should not answer questions on an incomplete factual record where the decisive issue is whether an impartible estate had ceased to be impartible and, if so, from which year. The Court noted that the character of the estate, the covenant terms, the custom of succession and the effect of the Hindu Succession Act all required factual findings before legal consequences could be determined. Because those findings were missing, the reference was not answered on the existing statement of case and the matter was remitted to the Tribunal for fresh findings on the foundational facts.

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Issues: (i) whether the reference could be answered on the existing statement of case when the real question was whether the impartible estate had lost its impartibility and, if so, from which year; (ii) whether the matter should be sent back to the Tribunal for findings on the relevant facts bearing on the effect of the Hindu Succession Act on the estate.

Issue (i): whether the reference could be answered on the existing statement of case when the real question was whether the impartible estate had lost its impartibility and, if so, from which year.

Analysis: The material before the Court did not contain a finding on the crucial factual question whether the estate had ceased to be impartible. The character of an impartible estate, the terms of the covenant, the exact custom of succession, and the effect of the statutory provisions governing succession all required factual examination before the legal consequences could be determined. Without such findings, the reference court could not conclusively answer the questions referred.

Conclusion: The Court declined to answer the referred questions on the existing record.

Issue (ii): whether the matter should be sent back to the Tribunal for findings on the relevant facts bearing on the effect of the Hindu Succession Act on the estate.

Analysis: Since the essential factual basis was missing, the appropriate course was not to decide the merits by assumptions or to rely on an incomplete statement of case. The Tribunal was required to examine whether the estate had lost its impartibility, and if so from which year, after considering the relevant facts and the statutory provisions.

Conclusion: The matter was remitted to the Tribunal for fresh consideration and findings on the unanswered factual issues.

Final Conclusion: The legal questions on the merits of the estate's character were left open, and the case was returned for determination of the foundational facts before any substantive answer could be given.

Ratio Decidendi: A reference court should not answer substantial questions of law on an incomplete factual record where the decisive factual issue has not been found by the fact-finding authority.

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