Hindu status for a child depends on upbringing in the Hindu parent's family; a mixed-faith family failed the test.

A child acquires Hindu status under the codifying Hindu statutes only if, despite having one Hindu parent, the child is brought up as a Hindu in that parent's Hindu family. Applying Explanation (b) to section 2(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the corresponding provisions of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, the Madras HC noted that the assessee's wife and daughter were Christians and there was no material to show that the daughter was brought up as a Hindu. A heterogeneous family of a Hindu spouse, a non-Hindu spouse and a non-Hindu child did not satisfy the statutory requirement, so the family could not be assessed as a Hindu undivided family.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's family consisting of himself, his Christian wife and his Christian daughter could be treated as a Hindu undivided family for income-tax purposes.

Analysis: The decision turned on the scope of the codifying Hindu statutes, especially Explanation (b) to section 2(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the corresponding provisions in the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 and the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956. Those provisions extend Hindu status to a child only where, though one parent is Hindu, the child is brought up as a Hindu in the family to which that Hindu parent belongs. On the assessee's own showing, his wife was a Christian and his daughter was a Christian, and there was no claim or material that the daughter had been brought up as a Hindu. The Court held that the "family" contemplated by the Explanation is the Hindu family of the Hindu parent, not a heterogeneous family created by marriage to a non-Hindu spouse.

Conclusion: The daughter could not be regarded as a Hindu for the purpose of the statutory provisions, and the assessee's family could not be assessed as a Hindu undivided family.

Ratio Decidendi: A child can acquire Hindu status under the codifying Hindu statutes only if, despite having one Hindu parent, the child is brought up as a Hindu in the Hindu family of that parent; a family consisting of a Hindu spouse, a non-Hindu spouse and a non-Hindu child does not satisfy that requirement.

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