9911796707
TMI Blog1983 (9) TMI 56X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h, was that of an individual and as such one-half income therefrom was assessable in her hands ?" The assessee, Smt. Ram Dulari, claimed the status of a HUF, but she was assessed as an individual. She is the widow of late Shri Om Parkash, son of late Shri Jwala Prasad. Shri Jwala Prasad died on September 20, 1957, while Shri Om Parkash passed away on June 24, 1960. They were survived by their widows, namely, Smt. Jhando Devi and Smt. Ram Dulari. In the assessment years under reference, the income that has been assessed in the hands of Smt. Ram Dulari as an individual is in respect of the estate of her late husband, Shri Om Parkash. The ITO observed that on the death of Shri Om Parkash, there was no male member in the family and, therefore ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... efines a person and includes a HUF. The expression " Hindu undivided family " has not been defined in the Act. The reason for the omission evidently is that the expression has a well-known connotation under the Hindu law and for this reason the Legislature did not want to define the expression separately in the Act. The expression " Hindu undivided family " is, therefore, to be construed in the sense in which it is understood under the Hindu law. The joint Hindu family, with all its incidents, is a creature of law. A joint Hindu family property normally is joint in food, worship and estate. The property of a joint family may consist of ancestral property, joint acquisition and of self-acquisition thrown into the common stock but, in its abs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... perty. In the other class of cases, the question would be whether the property, which did not belong to a subsisting undivided family, has truly acquired the character of a joint family property in the hands of the assessee. It is open to a coparcener or a member of a HUF to own individual property. He is at liberty to impress his self-acquired property with the character of HUF property. Where self-acquired property is an immovable property or even a share in a firm, the member can impress it with the character of HUF property. There is no legal bar or impediment against such conversion but it has to be established as a fact in each case. There is no presumption in law that a particular property is a joint family property. No material wa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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