9911796707
TMI Blog1971 (10) TMI 30X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d several properties in his personal capacity. After his death a suit for the partition of the sthanam was filed in a civil court by the various members of the tarwad. The appellant before us was appointed a receiver of the properties covered by the third sthanam of which the sthanamdar was the deceased, K. K. Thampan. The receiver was, in the circumstances, treated as an accountable person in respect of the sthanam properties. Pursuant to a notice issued under section 55 of the Estate Duty Act, 1953, hereinafter called the " Act ", by the Assistant Controller of Estate Duty (respondent herein) the appellant filed the necessary accounts. But he raised a contention in the assessment proceedings that according to section 7(3) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, hereinafter called the " Succession Act ", the deceased, Thampan, was entitled to 1/114th share in the properties in the sthanam and, therefore, only that share could be taken into account in determining the principal value of the estate liable to duty. The respondent, however, held that the entire estate passed on the death of the deceased and was liable to duty. The appellant filed a petition under article 226 of the Constitu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed that the holder of a sthanam is neither the holder of an office nor a corporation sole within the meaning of this sub-section. " In order to determine as to what property shall be deemed to pass on the death of the sthanamdar it is necessary to decide the nature of the sthanam property and the interest of the sthanamdar in that property. For this purpose we have to turn to the Marumakkattayam branch of Hindu law and then consider what is the exact ambit and scope of the changes which have been made under that law so far as succession is concerned in the case of sthanamdar by the Succession Act to the extent it is material in the present case. As pointed out in Mayne's Hindu Law and Usage (1950 edition), Marumakkattayam law is a body of customs and usages which have received judicial recognition. It prevails among a considerable section of the people inhabiting the West Coast of South India. The literal meaning of the word " Marumakkattayam " is inheritance through nephews and nieces. The essential difference between Marumakkattayam and the other schools of Hindu law is that the former is founded on the matriarchate while the latter is founded upon the agnatic family. In the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... alogous to that of a holder of an impartible estate. His successor had no interest in it and the right of the successor was nothing more than a spes successionis. There is a good deal of discussion on these matters in a judgment of this court in Kavalappara Kottarthil Kochuni v. State of Madras, which is on the same lines as above. In that case the constitutionality of the provisions of the Madras Marumakkattayam (Removal of Doubts) Act, 1955, passed by the Madras legislature soon after a decision of the Privy Council declaring that the properties in possession of the sthanamdar were sthanam properties in which the members of the tarwad had no interest had been challenged. By section 2 of that Act it had been provided that any sthanam in respect of which there was or had been, at any time, an intermingling of the properties of the sthanam and the properties of the tarwad or the members of the tarwad had been receiving maintenance from the properties of the sthanam or there had been a vacancy caused by there being no male member of the tarwad eligible to succeed to the sthanamdar, shall be deemed to be a Marumakkattayam tarwad and the properties appertaining to such sthanam shall be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . The points for consideration are : (1) Whether the provisions of the Succession Act can affect and are relevant for the levy of estate duty under the Act ? (2) What is the true effect of the provisions of section 7(3) of the Succession Act ? (3) Whether the estate duty would be leviable on the entire property which belonged to the sthanamdar or it can be levied only on 1/114th share in the sthanam properties to which alone the deceased, Thampan, would have been entitled if a partition had taken place under section 7(3) of the Succession Act immediately before his death ? As regards the first point it has already been mentioned that before the High Court, there was no dispute that if the court had to look to the provisions of the Act alone the entire property of the sthanam was liable to estate duty. On behalf of the appellant it has been contended before us that in order to determine the interest in property which ceases on the death of the deceased and which is deemed to pass on his death and the benefit which accrues or arises by the cesser of such interest within the meaning of section 7(1) of the Act it is essential to turn to the law by which the deceased is governed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... een disputed before us on behalf of the appellant that during his lifetime the sthanam property belonged to the sthanamdar. Certain restrictions were placed on his powers of alienation but that did not detract from the nature of the estate held by him. The cesser of his interest in the sthanam property would be of the whole of that property and the benefit that would accrue or arise by the cesser of such interest would also be of the entire sthanam property. The position would be different only if section 7(3) of the Succession Act is so construed as to lead to the result that a partition or division of the sthanam property shall be deemed to have taken place during his lifetime. In our judgment such an interpretation of section 7(3) of the Succession Act is likely to involve the constitutionality of that provision in view of the decision of this court in K. K. Kochuni's case . In other words, by bringing about a statutory division or partition of the sthanam property by which the sthanaindar will be deprived of that property except to the extent of a per capita share therein will be infringement of article 19(1)(f) of the Constitution. The court ought not to interpret statutor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
