Hindu Undivided Family status prevails where ancestral property income remains tied to a subsisting marital family unit.

An assessee deriving income from ancestral property remained assessable as a Hindu Undivided Family, because separate living from the wife did not sever the Hindu family unit for tax purposes. The analysis applied the principle that a Hindu family may consist of a single male member with his wife, and that ancestral or coparcenary property continues to be assessable in the HUF status where the marital relationship remains legally subsisting. On that basis, the assessee was rightly assessed as an HUF and not as an individual.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was assessable in the status of an individual or as a Hindu Undivided Family for the assessment years in question.

Analysis: The assessee had earlier been partitioned from his father and son, but the income under assessment arose from ancestral property and the marital relationship with his wife remained legally subsisting. Mere separate living from the wife did not sever the family unit for tax purposes. The reasoning drew support from the principle that a Hindu family may consist of a single male member with his wife and that ancestral/coparcenary property in such circumstances remains assessable in the status of a Hindu Undivided Family.

Conclusion: The assessee was rightly assessed as a Hindu Undivided Family and not as an individual.

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