Hindu undivided family status turned on joint family character of property and continued family subsistence for tax purposes.

A Hindu undivided family is wider than a coparcenary and may exist even with a sole male member together with female members, including a widow, wife or unmarried daughters. Property that has once belonged to a joint family does not lose its joint family character merely because the family is reduced to a single coparcener, so long as the family subsists and the property has not been clearly treated as self-acquired or thrown into the common stock otherwise. Applying these principles, the assessee remained joint with his widowed mother and the property retained its joint family character for tax purposes; the correct status was a Hindu undivided family, not an individual.

---

---

Issues: Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the correct status of the assessee was that of an individual or a Hindu undivided family.

Analysis: The question turned on the distinction between coparcenary and Hindu undivided family under Hindu law and the Income-tax Act. The Court applied the settled principle that a Hindu undivided family is wider than a coparcenary and may consist of a sole male member together with female members, including a widow, wife, and unmarried daughters. It also applied the rule that property which has once belonged to a joint family does not lose that character merely because the family is reduced to a single coparcener, so long as the family subsists and the property has not been unequivocally thrown into the common stock as self-acquired property. On the facts found, the assessee continued joint with his widowed mother and, even otherwise, the property retained its joint family character for tax purposes.

Conclusion: The correct status of the assessee was that of a Hindu undivided family, not an individual.

---