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TMI Blog1996 (10) TMI 9X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Tribunal was justified in holding that the deceased cannot be stated to have acquired the domicile of Bahrain which she had clearly opted by means of a letter written to her husband two years before the date of death? (2) Whether the Appellate Tribunal is correct in arriving at the conclusion that charging section 5 will not have an overriding effect on section 15 of the Indian Succession Act? (3) Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, when there have been two decisions on the same point and which are not identical, was it not fair that the interpretation in favour of the accountable person should have been followed?" Undisputedly, the entire claim with regard to the domicile in Bahrain is based on the contents of a le ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be only movable property outside India that could come under consideration for levy of estate duty and also in view of the position that immovable property outside India would not be liable to estate duty in either of the situations, the appellate authority thereafter took into consideration the letter dated September 16, 1979, and observed that the letter in question was written by the deceased from Bahrain to her husband and it is clear that she decided to continue to stay in Bahrain and spend the rest of her life there. On the basis of the conclusion with regard to the contents of the letter, the appellate authority proceeded to consider the statutory provisions of section 15 of the Indian Succession Act with regard to the legal situati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id treatise lays down the situation that it is impossible to lay down any positive rule with respect to the evidence necessary to prove intention and all that can be said is that every conceivable event and incident in a man's life would be relevant and admissible indication of his state of mind. It may be necessary to examine the history of even the hearsay evidence where the question concerned the domicile that a person, now deceased, possessed in his lifetime. Nothing must be overlooked that might possibly show the place which he regarded as his permanent home at the relevant time. Placing reliance on this passage, which the first appellate authority found to have been quoted in the decision of the Madras High Court in Seethalakshmi Amma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ressed doubts on the veracity thereof of acquisition of domicile by choice and in support thereof, placed reliance on certain circumstances with regard to the subsequent conduct of the deceased. It was submitted that the deceased had invested almost all her immovable and movable properties in India. It was pointed out that the only valuables she possessed at the time of her death was a television, a video cassette recorder and a very small amount of money. It was emphasised that her clinic where she used to practise was a rented one and even the residence was also rented. On the basis of the material on record, the Tribunal has observed that it is only a private letter written by the deceased to her husband intimating her will to change the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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