Invalid gift of ancestral joint family land void ab initio where no coparcener consent or legal necessity existed.

Gift of ancestral agricultural land by a Hindu karta to two sons was invalid because joint family property cannot be gifted without legal necessity or the consent of the male coparceners. The absence of such consent was reinforced by the challenge from the other sons and the civil court decree against the donor and donees. Section 4 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 was also treated as displacing inconsistent customary law. The gift was void ab initio, and cancellation of the gift-tax assessment was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the gift of ancestral agricultural land made by the assessee in favour of two sons was valid in law so as to sustain the gift-tax assessment.

Analysis: The land was found to be ancestral. Under Hindu law, a karta cannot make a gift of joint family property. Under the applicable customary law, ancestral immovable property was not alienable without legal necessity or the consent of the male descendants. The absence of consent was evidenced by the challenge raised by the other sons and the civil court decree obtained against the donor and donees. The statutory abrogation of inconsistent customary law by Section 4 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 also supported the conclusion that the donor had no power to make the gift.

Conclusion: The gift was invalid and void ab initio, and the cancellation of the assessment was justified.

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