Legal representative status under income tax law must be proved before an appeal on behalf of a deceased assessee can proceed.

The appellant failed to establish that he was the legal representative of the deceased assessee under the Income-tax Act read with the Code of Civil Procedure. In the absence of material showing compliance with the statutory requirements for representing the deceased's estate, and with no indication that proceedings had been initiated against him under the provision governing assessment or recovery from legal representatives, the appeal could not be maintained on behalf of the deceased assessee. The appeal was therefore treated as premature and dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the appellant had established that he was the legal representative of the deceased assessee so as to maintain the appeal, and whether the appeal was premature.

Analysis: The appellant claimed to be the son and legal representative of the deceased assessee, but no material was shown to establish compliance with the statutory requirements for a legal representative under the Income-tax Act, read with the meaning of legal representative under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. There was also no indication that proceedings had been initiated against him under the provision governing assessment or recovery from legal representatives. In the absence of such foundation, the appeal could not be entertained on behalf of the deceased assessee's estate.

Conclusion: The appellant was not accepted as a valid legal representative for the purpose of the appeal, and the appeal was dismissed as premature, against the assessee.

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