2005 (2) TMI 60

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....essee in his individual status and not in the status of a Hindu undivided family?" The reference relates to the assessment years 1977-78,1978-79,1979-80, 1980-81, 1984-85 and 1985-86. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present reference are as follows: The applicant is an individual who derives income from medical profession. In respect of the assessment years 1977-78 to 1980-81 original assessment has been completed bringing to tax only the professional income of the applicant. The assessments were subsequently reopened under section 147 of the Act on the ground that there was escapement of income due to the assessee's failure to disclose income from agricultural land and income from house property which was used by the assess....

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....on in it of the property in which the applicant was residing. On the merits also, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has held that both the aforesaid properties belonged to the applicant as an individual and that they were not his Hindu undivided family properties. Accordingly, he added the income from agriculture and from self-occupied property in the rental income of the assessee for the assessment years under consideration. In respect of the assessment years 1984-85 and 1985-86 the above view was repeated by the Income-tax Officer and additions were accordingly made in the course of the assessment which were confirmed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). The Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) had further observed that th....

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....th the Hindu undivided family is valid, two conditions must be fulfilled, viz., (i) that the person must have full knowledge that the property is self-acquired and (ii) the throwing of property into the Hindu undivided family hotchpot must be voluntary. The two returns did not show that the assessee had filed the return with the full knowledge that the property was otherwise self-acquired or separate. In fact though a copy of the court's compromise decree has not been filed by the appellant before me in his case, but it appears that there was a compromise decree on March 24, 1983, passed by the Civil Judge, Etawah, confirming that the residential house along with appurtenant orchard had been divided among the three brothers including the ap....

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.... question of throwing the property into the common hotchpot cannot just arise. It is only the individual property which could by a conscious act be impressed with the character of joint family property. But when the assessee was all along under an impression that the property in question had belonged to the Hindu undivided family, we fail to understand as to how he could have impressed that property with the character of the joint family property." We have heard Sri Shashi Kant Gupta, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Shambhoo Chopra, learned standing counsel appearing for the Revenue. Learned counsel for the applicant submitted that on the death of his father, the property which was inherited by him became ancestral property at h....