Mitakshara succession and valid information for reassessment under estate duty law were the central issues in reopening the assessment.

After the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, custom ceased to govern succession in matters covered by the Act, so the deceased and his sons were treated as a joint Hindu family governed by Mitakshara law for estate duty purposes; the estate was assessable on the deceased's share in joint family property. Reopening under section 59(b) of the Estate Duty Act required subsequent information that correctly stated the law and showed escapement of assessment. A prior decision that did not finally determine the issue, and was not a correct operative statement of law, could not constitute such information, so the reassessment notice was invalid.

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Issues: (i) Whether the deceased and his family were governed, after the commencement of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, by agricultural custom or by Mitakshara Hindu law for purposes of estate duty assessment; (ii) Whether the prior decision in Harbans Singh constituted "information" within the meaning of section 59(b) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, so as to justify reopening of the assessment and issuance of the impugned notice.

Issue (i): Whether the deceased and his family were governed, after the commencement of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, by agricultural custom or by Mitakshara Hindu law for purposes of estate duty assessment.

Analysis: The applicable legal framework was examined under section 5 of the Punjab Laws Act, 1872 and sections 2 and 4 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Before the Hindu Succession Act, custom could prevail only if it was specifically pleaded and proved; in the absence of proof, Hindu personal law applied. After the commencement of the Hindu Succession Act, section 4 abrogated custom and prior Hindu law rules in matters covered by the Act. The Court held that, for succession purposes, Sikhs were covered by the Act, and that the deceased and his sons formed a joint Hindu family governed by Mitakshara law. The estate was therefore assessable on the basis of the deceased's share in joint family property.

Conclusion: The deceased and his family were governed by Mitakshara Hindu law and not by customary law in matters of succession.

Issue (ii): Whether the prior decision in Harbans Singh constituted "information" within the meaning of section 59(b) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, so as to justify reopening of the assessment and issuance of the impugned notice.

Analysis: Section 59(b) permits reopening only when the Controller possesses subsequent information that leads to a belief that property has escaped assessment, been under-assessed, or assessed at too low a rate. The Court held that Harbans Singh did not lay down a correct or operative statement of law: the reference had been remanded without a merits decision, and the observations relied upon were not treated as a binding answer on the legal issue. Since the supposed judicial ruling did not correctly declare the law, it could not constitute "information" for the purpose of section 59(b).

Conclusion: Harbans Singh did not constitute valid "information" under section 59(b), and the impugned notice was not justified.

Final Conclusion: The reassessment notice was invalid, while the original assessment was sustained as lawful on the basis that the estate had been correctly assessed under the applicable succession regime.

Ratio Decidendi: For reopening under section 59(b) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, the "information" relied upon must be a correct and operative statement of law acquired subsequent to the original assessment; an observation that does not finally determine the legal issue, or does not correctly state the law, cannot furnish jurisdiction to reassess.

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