Bequeathed property remained separate, and widow's share became absolute under succession law, defeating HUF assessment.

Property bequeathed under a will with unfettered powers of enjoyment and disposition vested exclusively in the legatee before a later adoption, so it did not become ancestral or joint family property merely because a son was subsequently born to him. On the legatee's death, the widow inherited an equal share under section 3(1) of the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act, 1937, and her limited interest matured into absolute ownership under section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 because she was in possession when that Act commenced. The property was therefore not joint family property, and its income was not assessable in the status of a Hindu undivided family.

---

---

Issues: Whether the income from the properties and money-lending assets standing in the names of the widow and minor son was assessable in the status of a Hindu undivided family.

Analysis: The property had devolved on the legatee under the will before the subsequent adoption, and the testamentary disposition showed an intention to give the property exclusively to him with unfettered powers of enjoyment and disposition. Such property did not become ancestral or joint family property merely because a son was later born to him. On his death, the widow took an equal share under section 3(1) of the Hindu Women's Rights to Property Act, 1937, and her limited interest was enlarged into absolute ownership by section 14 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, because she was in possession of the property when that Act came into force.

Conclusion: The property was not joint family property, and the assessment of the income in the status of a Hindu undivided family was ?

---