TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (9) TMI 1620
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....ize the Appellant Trust as a 'charitable' trust without assigning any cogent reasons or justification for such denial, insofar as the said order characterizes the Appellant Trust as 'religious cum charitable', and the Appellant seeks classification as 'charitable' alone. 2. That the Ld. CIT(E) erred in treating the Appellant Trust as 'religious cum charitable', without appreciating the fact that there has been no change in the nature of activities carried on by the Appellant Trust, and without taking into account that the earlier registration granted to the Appellant also considered the Appellant as 'charitable'. 3. The Ld. CIT(E) has erred in concluding that the Appellant Trust is 'religious cum charitable' in nature, without duly considering that the activities undertaken by the Appellant are purely charitable and devoid of any religious character. 4. The Ld. CIT(E) has erred in concluding that the Appellant Trust is a 'religious cum charitable trust without undertaking an independent examination of the Appellant Trust's activities and has instead relied upon the rejection order passed under sectio....
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....the very basic tenet that Hinduism is a way of life and cannot be construed as a religion. To substantiate the same, reliance is placed on the following decisions - Hon'ble SC in Dr. Ramesh Yeshwant Prabhoo v. Shri Prabhakar Kashinath Kunte & Ors 1996 AIR 1113 (SC) wherein it was held that Hindutva is a way of life or a state of mind and cannot be equated with Hindu fundamentalism. Hon'ble High Court, Madras in T.T. Kuppuswamy Chettiayar & Ors v. State of Tamil Nadu (1987) 100 LW 1031 wherein it was held that a study of the Sanskrit texts in English and law administered in pursuance thereof, clearly shows that there is no religion by the name 'Hindu'. Further, it was observed that a perusal of the word 'Hindu' was given by the British authorities while dispensing justice with reference to the inheritance, partition, marriage and other personal laws of the inhabitants of this nation who are not Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains. Hon'ble ITAT, Nagpur in Shiv Mandir Devsttan Panch Committee Sanstan v. CIT, Nagpur ITA No. 223 (Nagpur) of 2009 wherein it was held that Hinduism is neither religion nor a community. Even worship of....
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.... instruction 'only' to vedic subjects and requirement for State approval for courses and centres violated Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. in the decision, the Hon'ble High Court analyzed the concept of 'vedas' and noted as follows - In vedas, there are formulae which deal with mathematics. The vedic sutras enable a person to solve complex mathematical problems because of their cogency, compactness and simplicity. It is a total misconception that the vedas are only relatable to rituals. Vedas convey unified sense of knowledge and have given emphasis on pollution - free world and commend prayer for the protection of mother earth and all other elements. The modern physicists are also connecting certain theories propagated by the ancient Indians. Some scientists have seen atomic dance in the deity of 'Natraj'. The empirical knowledge which has been achieved, had been perceived by the ancient 'Drastas'. The memories of cells, which is the modern discovery finds place in the wise men of the past. The Psychology, Psychiatry, Neurology had also been adverted in their own way in the Shastras. P....
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....an practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills, etc transmitted from generation to generation recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history. The same provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, in turn promoting cultural diversity and creativity. Intangible cultural heritage can be oral traditions and expressions including language; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practice concerning nature and the universe; and traditional craftmanship. The Committee established under this Convention working alongside the Parties to the Convention is responsible for publishing a Representative List to ensure better visibility of intangible cultural heritage and drawing awareness to its significance. B.24. The tradition of Vedic chanting forms a part of the 2008 Representative List and is considered a part of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. The value of this tradition lies in the rich content of its literature i.e. the Vedas and the ingenious techniques adopted to preserve the same. To ensure the sound of each word remains unaltered, complex....
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.... the beneficiaries of the Trust are members of general public irrespective of race, religion, caste, community, creed or gender. The word 'veda' means knowledge and signifies highest sacred, eternal and divine knowledge as well as the texts embodying that knowledge. Apart from philosophy, there are descriptions of various aspects of different subjects. The Hon'ble ITAT held that the Assessee only teaches the students how to recite vedas. There is a particular method of pronunciation of vedas with swaras attached to it. The recitation of vedas is like teaching any other Sanskrit literature and does not involve offering worship and prayer to God. Hence, the approval u/s 80G of the IT Act must be granted to the Assessee. B.29. Against the same, an appeal has been preferred by the Department before the Hon'ble High Court, Karnataka, which is still pending. However, the Order of the Hon'ble ITAT has not been stayed by the Hon'ble Kerala High Court and hence, continues to be a binding precedent." B.30. In addition to the decision of the Hon'ble ITAT, Bangalore discussed above, similar principles have been affirmed in rulings of other Benches,....