Undivided Hindu Family membership: maintenance allowance received as exempt under Section 14(1) when paid by virtue of family position.

Whether maintenance paid to a mother constituted receipt as a member of an undivided Hindu family under Section 14(1) was decided by applying the principle that an undivided Hindu family is wider than a coparcenary and includes persons entitled to maintenance though not coparceners; membership does not depend on the source of the proprietor's estate. The court treated the allowance as maintenance by virtue of family position despite a testamentary provision, and held the receipt fell within the exemption of Section 14(1), answering in favour of the claimant.

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Issues: Whether the maintenance allowance of Rs. 30,000 received in 1936-37 by Thakurain Rudh Kumari was received by her as a member of an undivided Hindu family within the meaning of Section 14(1) of the Income-tax Act.

Analysis: The matter requires determination of (i) whether Rudh Kumari was a member of an undivided Hindu family and (ii) whether the amount received was by virtue of that membership. An undivided Hindu family is broader than a Hindu coparcenary and may include persons entitled to maintenance though not coparceners; membership does not depend upon the source from which the proprietor derived his estate. As mother of the proprietor, Rudh Kumari had a legal right to maintenance from him under Hindu law. The existence of a testamentary provision in her favour does not negate her statutory entitlement to maintenance where, on the facts, the Court of Wards fixed and paid a reduced guzara of Rs. 2,500 per month; this indicates the payment was made as maintenance by reason of her position in the family rather than under the will. Where payments are made by way of maintenance by the proprietor (or under management of his estate) to a person entitled to maintenance, such receipts fall within the exemption in Section 14(1).

Conclusion: The maintenance allowance received by Thakurain Rudh Kumari in 1936-37 was received by her as a member of an undivided Hindu family and is exempt under Section 14(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1922; answer given in favour of Thakurain Rudh Kumari.

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