TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1962 (2) TMI 116
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nnamalai, Narayanan and Viswanathan. Narayanan was born on 29th May, 1939, and Viswanathan was born on 17th September, 1941. Annamalai's wife was one Meenakshi Achi. Chockalingam died on 7th February, 1943. After the death of Chockalingam, two sons were born to Annamalai. They are Chockalingam born on nth August, 1946, and Ramaswami born on 23rd March, 1948. The income from the estate of Chockalingam came in for assessment under the Indian Income-tax Act for the year 1951-52. The assessment was made by the Income-tax Officer on the footing that Narayanan and Viswanathan, the two grandsons of Chockalingam, who alone were in existence on the date of his death were each entitled to a moiety of the estate. Annamalai was in possession of th....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nd enjoy in equal shares and with absolute rights all assets and liabilities in respect of immoveable and moveable properties, items, banks, chettiveettu firms, etc., as per the accounts of the aforesaid S.N.A.S. firm at Penang.......... I hereby appoint my divided son, S.N.A.S.A. Annamalai Chettiar, Nattukottai, Vaisia Caste, Banker, residing at Karaikudi, Tirupattur firka, Ramanathapuram Dt., and his wife, Meenakshi Achi, aforesaid caste and calling, residing at the aforesaid village as executors. Therefore, they shall, after my lifetime, manage and augment all my immoveable and moveable properties and firms, which are mentioned above, in their capacity as guardians and executors of the aforesaid minors, and when the aforesaid minors atta....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ll after the termination of their period of minority. The bequest by Chockalingam is certainly in favour of a class of heirs, namely, his grandchildren born of his divided son, Annamalai. Where there is a bequest to a class under the will, the essential thing to be determined first is the point of time when the class has to be ascertained. The normal rule is that the date of death of the testator crystallises the class of legatees and those who come within the class and are capable of taking on that date obtain the benefit; the subsequent expansion of the class cannot diminish that benefit. But if on a proper construction of the will the ascertainment of the class is deferred to a later date, namely, a date subsequent to the date of the de....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ion of the bequest. Primarily, the words of the will, if they are clear enough and unambiguous, should be depended upon to indicate the point of time at which the class is to be ascertained. No rule of construction can overrule or displace the plain meaning of the terms employed in the testamentary instrument. Where the intention of the testator cannot be gathered from the language of the instrument and from the context and the circumstances of the case, the court which is entrusted with the task of reading the mind of the testator acts upon certain rules of construction. These rules are, no doubt, artificial rules and have been described as rules of convenience. The first rule of convenience, which alone need be adverted to, in the presen....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ing for and on account of someone else. In such a case the latter is in possession by the agency of his who so holds the thing on his behalf. The possession thus held by one man through another may be termed mediate while that which is acquired or retained directly or personally may be distinguished as immediate or direct". (Salmond on Jurisprudence, 111th edition, page 332) . It is not possible to construe the words in the will providing for the management and administration of the testator's estate by the executors as operating to bring about deferred possession of the estate to the legatees comprised in the class of grandchildren of the testator till any one or all of them became majors. We have no doubt that the exception to s....