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TMI Blog2005 (2) TMI 60X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... AWAL., PRAKASH KRISHNA. JUDGMENT The judgment of the court was delivered by R.K. Agrawal J.- The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Allahabad, has referred the following question of law under section 256(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), for the opinion to this court: "Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal was correct in law in holding that the income from property and agricultural land belonged to the assessee in his individual status and not in the status of a Hindu undivided family?" The reference relates to the assessment years 1977-78,1978-79,1979-80, 1980-81, 1984-85 and 1985-86. Briefly stated, the facts giving rise to the present re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or taking action under section 147(a) of the Act was not fulfilled. The plea of the applicant that the agricultural land and the self-occupied property belonged to the Hindu undivided family of the assessee was, however, rejected by the Assessing Officer and the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). The note given by the applicant in the return for the assessment year 1977-78, only made the following mention: "Agricultural grove is Hindu undivided family property. Hence not returned." There was no mention in it of the property in which the applicant was residing. On the merits also, the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) has held that both the aforesaid properties belonged to the applicant as an individual and that they were not his H ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cted by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) by the following order: "I find the two returns had been filed on July 5, 1982, and were later revised on May 12, 1983, and February 27, 1984. This plea of the appellant is also devoid of any force. Merely by filing the two returns on July 5, 1982, such conduct could not be taken to be determinative of the intention of the assessee to throw the property into the common hotchpot. The courts have held that in order that the blending of self-acquired property with the Hindu undivided family is valid, two conditions must be fulfilled, viz., (i) that the person must have full knowledge that the property is self-acquired and (ii) the throwing of property into the Hindu undivided family hotchpot m ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals). In respect of blending of the property, the Tribunal has held as follows: "We find it difficult to persuade ourselves to agree with the contention of the assessee that the property should be considered to have been thrown by him into the common hotchpot of the Hindu undivided family. The assessee was all along under the impression that the property, which it has received on the death of his father, was the Hindu undivided family property. Under the circumstances, the question of throwing the property into the common hotchpot cannot just arise. It is only the individual property which could by a conscious act be impressed with the character of joint family property. But when the assessee was all a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as individual property. Having heard learned counsel for the parties, we find that the apex court in the case of CWT v. Chander Sen [1986] 161 ITR 370, has held that in view of section 4 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, income from the asset acquired by a son from his father can be assessed as income of the son individually and under section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the property of the father devolves on his son in the individual capacity and not as karta of Hindu undivided family. In this view of the matter, the property owned by the applicant after the death of his father which was inherited by him after the death of his father, became individual property of the applicant and not that of the Hindu undivided family. So f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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