It may be mentioned here that in accordance with this provision, Fulchand became a trustee on attaining majority in March, 1947 and Nirmal Kumar, the eldest son of Kokila Debi also became a trustee in the year 1960.
On November 3, 1944, he executed a deed of trust by which be transferred to the trustees two of his self acquired properties situate at 41/16 A, Russa Road and 21, Paika Para Row for the benefit of the deity Sri Sri Iswar Gopal Jew whom he had companysecrated at his ancestral house at 112, Krishnaram Bose Street, Calcutta.
The intended purposes of the said trust were set out in the deed itself.
Appeals from the judgment and order dated March 18, 1966 ,of the Calcutta High Court in Income tax Reference No.
After the death of the second wife, Badri Prasad Agarwalla took Kokila Debi as his third wife.
This deed was also expressly made as, a supplement to the deed of November 3, 1944.
Therein provision was niade for the management of the property, for companyducting the sevas and pujas of the deity and for maintenance of proper and necessary accounts.
The deed was admittedly a supplement to the earlier deed dated November 3, 1944.
The facts found by the tribunal, as companyld be gathered from the statement of the case submitted by it are as follows Shri Badriprasad Agarwalla, a Hindu governed by Mitakshra School of Hindu law, had three wives, 1 Sukti Devi, 2 Krishna Devi and 3 Kokila Debi.
It was provided in that deed that each of the sons of Badri Prasad on attaining majority would automatically become a trustee of that trust.
2/3rd of the rent realised from the trust properties was to be utilised towards seva of the deity and the balance 1/3rd was to be retained in the hands of the trustees to meet the companylection charges, taxes and other incidental expenses relating to the said properties.
In appeal, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner companyfirmed the order of the Income tax,Officer but on a further appeal taken to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, the Tribunal held that the sole beneficiary under the three deeds was the deity Sri Sri Ishwar Gopal Jew.
On September 25, 1947, Badri Prasad executed another deed to Which he, Kokila Debi and Fulchand were parties.
Under the said deed, Kokila Debi was appointed as the sole shebait of the idol until the sons of Badri Prasad became majours.
220 to 230 of 1967.
Under that deed Kokila Debi was appointed as a trustee.
and the trustees and shebaits held their offices as such for carrying on daily and periodical sevas and worship of the deity and they were to hold the properties for and on behalf of the deity.
From the second wife, Krishna Devi, he had a son named Fulchand born in March 1929.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeals Nos.
But as soon as they became majors they were to be joint Shebaits of the idol along with Kokila Debi.
To that deed Badri Prasad, Kokila Debi and Fulchand were parties.
From her he had six sons, the eldest of whom is Nirmal Kumar born in 1942.
The Income tax Officer assessed the income from all the pro perties in the hands of the trustees at the maximum rate in accordance with the provision companytained in the 1st proviso to S. 41 1 of the Act.
The relevant portion of S. 41 1 and the 1st,proviso thereto read In the case of income, profits or gains chargeable under this Act any trustee or trustees appointed under a trust declared by a duly executed instrument in writing whether testamentary or otherwise are entitled to receive on behalf of any person, the taxshall be levied upon and recoverable from such trustee or trustees in the like manner and to thesame amount as it would be leviable upon and recoverable from the person on whose behalf such income, profits or gains are receivable and all the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly Provided that where such income, profits or gains or any part thereof are number specifically receivable on behalf of any one person or where the individual shares of the persons on whose behalf they are receivable are indeterminate or unknown, the tax shall be levied and recoverable at the maximum rate, but, where, such persons have numberother personal income, chargeable under this Act and numbere of them is an artificial juridical person, as if such income, profits or gains or such part thereof were the total income of an association of persons As seen earlier, the finding of the Appellate Tribunal is that the trustees had numberbeneficial interest in the income of the properties included in the trust deeds and that the sole beneficiary under those deeds is the deity.
On March 17, 1951, Badri Prasad executed a third deed.
Hence the 1 St proviso to S. 41 1 is number applicable to the facts of the case and the trustees should be assessed in the status of an individual in respect of the income received by them on behalf of the deity.
103 of 1962.
The High Court answered the first question in the affirmative and in view of that answer, it did number find it necessary to answer the second question.
The respondent did number appear.
K. A iyar and O. D. Sharma, for the appellant in all the appeals .
Sri Sri Iswar Gopal Jew, under the trust If the answer to the question 1 be in the negative, then whether the income of the Trust was to be assessed at the maximum rate by virtue of the first proviso to s. 41 1 of the Income Tax Act, 1922 ?
The questions referred to the High Court are Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case and on a proper companystruction of three deeds executed on the 3rd November, 1944, the 25tb September 1947 and the 17th March, 1951 referred to in the order, the Tribunal was right in holding that there was only one beneficiary viz.
