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Issues:
1. Interpretation of whether the property in question formed part of the estate duty. 2. Application of sections 5 and 6 of the Estate Duty Act. 3. Determination of real ownership in a benami transaction. 4. Relevance of Trusts Act and Transfer of Property Act in determining ownership. 5. Impact of previous judicial decisions on the current case. Analysis: 1. The primary issue in this case was whether the property in question formed part of the estate duty. The deceased had provided funds for the purchase and construction of a house, which was held in the name of the accountable person. The Assistant Controller initially included the house's value in the estate, but the Appellate Controller disagreed, leading to an appeal before the Tribunal. 2. The court analyzed sections 5 and 6 of the Estate Duty Act, which deal with the levy of estate duty on property passing on death. The Act imposes a tax on the principal value of all properties passing on death. The court emphasized that the Act applies to properties passing on death or deemed to pass on death, as defined in section 2(16). 3. In a benami transaction, the real owner retains the title even if the property is in the name of another person. The court highlighted that a benamidar has no beneficial interest in the property and acts as a trustee for the real owner. The deceased was deemed to be the real owner in this case, and the accountable person held the property in trust for the deceased. 4. The court considered the Indian Trusts Act and the Transfer of Property Act in determining ownership. It was concluded that the deceased held the property, and the accountable person could not deal with it in any way, subject to the equities under the Transfer of Property Act. 5. Previous judicial decisions, including those cited by the Appellate Controller and the Tribunal, were examined. The court noted that the decisions relied upon were overruled by a previous case, indicating that the property in question should be included in the principal value of the deceased's estate for estate duty purposes. In conclusion, the court ruled in favor of the Revenue, determining that the property belonged to the deceased and should be included in the estate duty assessment. The judgment clarified the principles of real ownership in benami transactions and highlighted the legal framework governing estate duty assessments.
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