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Issues:
1. Exclusion of surrender value of the policy under the Married Women's Property Act 2. Aggregation of surrender value with other property passing on the death of the deceased 3. Deduction of estate duty amount in computing the value of the principal estate Analysis: The judgment pertains to a reference made under the Estate Duty Act, 1953, regarding the estate left by a deceased individual. The deceased's husband had taken out a life insurance policy under the Married Women's Property Act, specifically assigned to his wife. The Assistant Controller of Estate Duty included the surrender value of the policy in the deceased's estate, which was contested by the accountable person. The Appellate Controller and Tribunal upheld the inclusion, stating that the benefit of the policy vested in the deceased during her lifetime and passed on her death. Regarding the first issue, the court held that the deceased had an interest in the policy, at least to the extent of the surrender value, as per the provisions of the Married Women's Property Act. The trust created by the policy in favor of the deceased meant that the amount was not part of the husband's estate but belonged to the deceased. Therefore, the surrender value was rightly included in the estate for assessment purposes. On the second issue, the court ruled that the surrender value of the insurance policy had to be aggregated with other property passing on the deceased's death. The interest in the surrender value existed before the death of the deceased and did not arise as a consequence of her death, making it subject to aggregation as per the Estate Duty Act. Regarding the third issue, the court referred to a previous judgment to conclude that the deduction of the estate duty amount in computing the value of the principal estate was not permissible. The court upheld the decision of the Tribunal and answered all three questions in favor of the revenue authorities. No costs were awarded in this matter.
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