9911796707
TMI Blog1982 (10) TMI 12X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... exempt are sustainable in law ? " The assessee is known as " Shri Gopal Lalji Mandir Trust " and the deed of trust was executed on November 5, 1952, by Shri Brijmohandas and some others. According to the assessee, there is nothing in the trust deed to show that the general public has a right in the temple nor is there anything to indicate that the general public is debarred from entering the temple for worshipping the deity. The assessee, therefore, claimed that it was a public charitable trust and as such its income was exempt under s. 2(15) read with s. 11 of the I.T. Act, 1961. The ITO, after considering the relevant clauses of the deed of trust, came to the conclusion that the trust was a personal temple built for the benefit of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot be question which could be referred to this court as it does not arise out of the order of the Tribunal. It was contended by the learned counsel for the assessee that there is nothing in the trust deed to indicate that the temple or the dharmashala is not open to the public in general and that the benefits out of the trust property are not available to the public in general, and, therefore, the Tribunal was not right in drawing an inference from certain clauses of the trust deed alone, as the trust deed ought to have been read as a whole. Learned counsel for the Department, on the other hand, contended that the deed of trust very clearly and categorically indicates that the trust is for the benefit only of the members of the family ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the temple and also to have two meals a day. Clause 14 reads: It is thus clearly stated that the temple and the trust are completely private property and meant only for the creators of the trust and their children to derive religious benefit ; and it has also been categorically stated that the provisions of the Public Religious Trusts Act will not be applicable to this trust. Even future laws and regulations will not be applicable, Clause 26 further provides that no donations or presents will be accepted in the temple from anyone except the family members of the creator of the trust and the reason stated is that this trust is completely a private property. These specific clauses clearly demonstrate the intention of the creator of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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