Wealth-tax treatment of partitioned ancestral property depends on the holder's status; a minor without a family was assessable as an individual.

Property received by a minor on partition of ancestral Hindu undivided family property was held to be assessable in his hands according to his own status, not the source from which it was derived. Because the assessee had no family of his own and therefore did not constitute a Hindu undivided family, the property could not retain HUF character for wealth-tax purposes. The assessee was accordingly assessable as an individual, not as an HUF.

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Issues: Whether property received by a minor assessee on partition of ancestral Hindu undivided family property retained its character as HUF property in his hands for wealth-tax purposes, or whether the assessee was assessable in the status of an individual.

Analysis: The property had originally belonged to a Hindu undivided family, but on partition it came to the assessee in his individual hands. The assessee was a minor throughout the relevant period and had no family of his own. The character of property for wealth-tax purposes was held to depend on the status of the person holding it. Since the assessee did not constitute a Hindu undivided family, the property could not be treated as HUF property in his hands.

Conclusion: The assessee was rightly assessed as an individual and not as a Hindu undivided family.

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