1973 (6) TMI 10

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....ection 72 of the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, which was before the valuation date. He claimed that the compensation payable by the Government for the said lands was not net wealth in respect of the year to which the assessment related. The second respondent rejected the claim, and made an assessment against the petitioner by his order, exhibit P-3, dated March 19, 1971, by including in his net wealth a sum of Rs. 1,68,000 on account of compensation obtainable by him from the Government. In arriving at the above figure, the second respondent stated that, if the tenants chose to pay the price of the holdings in lump under the Kerala Land Reforms Act, it was sufficient that they paid twelve times 50% of the annual rent, and that this amount ....

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....ally unsustainable. It was also contended before me that the compensation is payable by the Government in instalments in the future, and that such a thing would not amount to an asset on the valuation date. This contention is also hardly sustainable. Under the Kerala Land Reforms Act, the compensation for the lands vested in the Government is a statutory debt payable by the Government in the manner provided in the Act. It is an asset like any other debt; and its value on the valuation date has to be fixed and included in the net wealth of the assessee. The next contention is that the method that the second respondent has adopted to fix the value of the compensation is contrary to law and erroneous on the face of the order. This contention....