1947 (7) TMI 10 - Other - Indian Laws

Summary

Issues Involved:
1. Whether the appellant society is entitled to exemption from income tax under Section 37 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, on the ground that it is a body established for charitable purposes only.
2. Whether the main object of the society, the total abolition of vivisection, is a charitable purpose.
3. Whether the society's purpose of altering the law to achieve its objective is a political purpose and thus not charitable.
4. Whether the court can disregard the finding of fact that the society's object, on balance, is gravely injurious to the public benefit.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Exemption from Income Tax:
The appellant society claimed exemption from income tax under Section 37 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, asserting that it was established for charitable purposes only. The Special Commissioners initially allowed this claim based on the authority of Re Foveaux, which held that the society was a charity. However, this decision was reversed by the revenue judge and affirmed by the Court of Appeal, with a dissenting opinion from the Master of the Rolls. The Commissioners found that the society's main object was the total abolition of vivisection, including all experiments on living animals, and the repeal of the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876.

2. Charitable Purpose:
The court examined whether the society's object of abolishing vivisection could be regarded as a charitable purpose. The Commissioners concluded that the abolition of vivisection would place a serious obstacle in the way of obtaining further medical and scientific knowledge beneficial to the public. They found that any assumed public benefit in the direction of the advancement of morals and education was far outweighed by the detriment to medical science and research, and consequently to the public health. The court held that the society's object, far from being for the public benefit, was gravely injurious thereto, and thus the society could not be regarded as a charity.

3. Political Purpose:
The court considered whether the society's purpose of altering the law to achieve its objective was a political purpose. It was argued that a trust for the attainment of political objects has always been held invalid because the court has no means of judging whether a proposed change in the law will or will not be for the public benefit. The Commissioners held that the repeal of the Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876, and the substitution of a new enactment prohibiting vivisection altogether was the main object of the society. The court concluded that a main object of the society was political, and thus the society was not established for charitable purposes only.

4. Public Benefit:
The court addressed whether it could disregard the finding of fact that the society's object, on balance, was gravely injurious to the public benefit. The court emphasized that it could not take under its care and administer a trust whose consequences would be calamitous to the community. The court must determine whether the object is for the public benefit based on all the evidence before it. If the achievement of the society's object would be greatly to the public disadvantage, the object cannot be considered charitable. The court concluded that the society's object was not for the public benefit and thus not charitable.

Conclusion:
The appeal was dismissed. The court held that the society's object of abolishing vivisection was not a charitable purpose, as it was gravely injurious to the public benefit. Additionally, the society's purpose of altering the law was deemed a political purpose, further disqualifying it from being considered a charity.