Maintenance paid to widow not taxable income where receipt reflects heirs' legal obligation to maintain

Monthly maintenance paid by sons to their widowed mother was treated as maintenance arising from a legal obligation to support a dependent, not as a fresh source of income. Section 22(1) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1955 was read as reflecting the pre-existing Hindu law principle that heirs who inherit an estate assume the deceased's maintenance obligation. On that basis, the character of the receipt remained maintenance in the widow's hands and it was not assessable as income.

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Issues: Whether the monthly maintenance amount paid by the sons to the widow of the deceased was taxable income in the hands of the recipient.

Analysis: The receipt was treated as maintenance arising from the sons' obligation to maintain their mother, and not as a fresh source of income. Section 22(1) of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1955 was understood as embodying the pre-existing Hindu law principle that the deceased's moral obligation to maintain certain dependants becomes a legal obligation in the hands of the heirs who inherit the estate. The character of the receipt was therefore held to remain unchanged notwithstanding the statutory provision, and it was viewed as maintenance received in the widow's capacity as such, not as assessable income.

Conclusion: The monthly maintenance payment was held not to be taxable income in the hands of the assessee.

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