9911796707
TMI Blog1991 (8) TMI 127X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Dinesh Dharamsey jointly purchased a property known as Shradhadeep situated at Gokhale Road, Poona from Shri Dharamsey Khatau father of Shri Dinesh Dharamsey and father-in-law of Smt. Chandrika Dinesh for a consideration of Rs. 94,000. Shri Dinesh Dharamsey contributed Rs. 64,000, while Smt. Chandrika Dinesh contributed Rs. 30,000. Thereafter, the said property was rented out to Shri Dharamsey Khatau on a monthly rent of Rs. 400. On 23-10-1980, Smt. Chandrika Dinesh gifted a portion of her share in the said property to Harsh Dinesh Trust whose sole beneficiary, as stated above, was Shri Harsh, her son. Similarly, Shri Dinesh Dharamsey gifted a portion of his share in the said property to each of Aditi Dinesh Trust and Heena Dinesh Trust, w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ld be allowed. He contended that the term ' parents ' will include father-in-law also. Since, I am in agreement with the above arguments of the assessee's representative the exemption under section 54 claimed at Rs. 82,850 is disallowed." 4. Before the CIT(Appeals), relying on the Dictionary meaning of the word " parent ", it was urged that since the father-in-law is also " parent ", the assessee's claim for exemption under section 54 of the Act should be accepted. The CIT(Appeals) upheld the action of the ITO in the following manner : " 4. Before me, Shri M.C. Hemrajani, Learned Counsel of the appellant has contended that according to the Random House Dictionary, the word parent means : ' Parent: (PAR/ENT,PAR-N. 1. A father or a mot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t of her husband's family in that case, the High Court observed that :---- For enjoying exemption under section 54, occupation of property by the assessee for residence should be as a matter of right. Where the assessee leases a flat, though to her own husband, the main purpose of use of property would be for letting out to earn rent and not for her own residence, though she may happen to reside therein as a member of the tenant's family. When her husband has the legal right to be in possession and to the use of that flat, and her right to reside therein is only as a member of his family ; it cannot be said that the flat is being used mainly for the purpose of her own residence. In such a case the assessee will not be entitled to exemptio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... since the assessee's grandfather was staying in the house, exemption under section 54 is not allowable in view of the fact that grandfather cannot be said to be the parent of the assessee." In appeal, the CIT(Appeals) upheld the action of the ITO on the same lines, as he did in the case of Smt. Chandrika Dinesh. 6. Being aggrieved by the orders of the CIT(Appeals), the assessees have come up in appeal before the Tribunal. The learned advocate for the assessees reiterated the submissions, which were made before the I.T. authorities and once again pressed for exemption under section 54 of the Act in each case. In this connection, she invited our attention to the following dictionary meaning :---- Webster Universal Dictionary : Pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the case of Shri Dinesh Dharamsey, the ITO has granted exemption under section 54 of the Act in respect of his investment in Anjali. She, therefore, strongly urged that the exemption under section 54 of the Act should have been accepted by the I.T. authorities. 7. The learned representative for the revenue, on the other hand, supported the action of the I.T. authorities. According to him, the facts and circumstances obtaining in each of the cases are more akin to the facts and circumstances obtaining in the case of Smt. Vijayalakshmi v. CIT [1975] 100 ITR 648. In that case, the assessee (a lady) had purchased a flat in Bombay in 1962. She had leased it out to her husband and was living therein with her husband. In the accounting year, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onthly rent of Rs. 400. In other words, he wanted to impress upon us that Shri Dharamsey Khatau was not occupying Shradhadeep property by virtue of his being the father-in-law/grandfather of Smt. Chandrika Dinesh/Harsh Dinesh, but by virtue of his being a tenant. He, therefore, urged that we should uphold the action of the I.T. authorities. 8. We have carefully considered the rival submissions of the parties and the material to which our attention was drawn at the time of hearing and we do not find any merit in the stand taken on behalf of the assessees. As regards the argument that the term parent should be interpreted liberally and should be taken to mean Father-in-law, we find that even the reference of the Dictionary meanings relied ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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