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TMI Blog1969 (2) TMI 51X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e deceased, Narayan Rao Patankar, for his life only ? (3) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the muafi grant held by the deceased, Narayan Rao Patankar, passed, on his death within the meaning of section 5(1)? " Sardar Narayan Rao Patankar, who died on 13th October, 1957, was the holder of a cash muafi of Rs. 38,844 per annum from the Gwalior Durbar On his death the grant of muafi was continued by the Madhya Pradesh Government in favour of his son, Trimbak Rao alias Aditya Patankar, and the name of the son under the guardianship of his mother, Smt. Usha Devi Patankar, was substituted in place of the deceased. Smt. Usha Devi Patankar is the accountable person in this case. In assessment proceedings of the estate ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e, it appears that the ancestor of the Patankar family, Shri Rao Saheb Mansingh, was a Sardar of Kolhapur and Hyderabad States. His son, Ramchandra Rao, was married to the daughter of Maharaja Daulatrao Shinde of Gwalior. At the time of the marriage, there was an agreement for payment of some cash and grant of jaghir. Thereafter, Maharaja Daulatrao granted to Mansingh Rao, ' Mahal Pavagan ' in jaghir ; subsequently, the jaghir was taken back and cash money used to be paid to him by way of maintenance. Shri Ramchandra Rao used to live with his mother-in-law, Smt. Bayjabai, who was the mother of Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia. After the death of Ramchandra Rao, Trimbak Rao Patankar succeeded to him as an adopted son. A grant made to him by Mahar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1-0-57 on the subject cited above, you are hereby informed that the Government of Madhya Pradesh has been pleased to grant substitution of Shri Trimbakrao alias Aditya Patankar under your guardianship for the aforesaid cash muafi. " The charging section in the Estate Duty Act for levy of estate duty is section 5(1), which reads as under : " 5. (1) In the case of every person dying after the commencement of this Act, there shall, save as hereinafter expressly provided, be levied and paid upon the principal value ascertained as hereinafter provided of all property, settled or not settled, including agricultural land situate in the territories which immediately before 1st November, 1956, were comprised in the States specified in the First Sc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iwaji Rao Scindia to Rs. 5,000 per month (Rs. 60,000 per annum.) Thereafter, when Trimbak Rao died, the cash grant was further reduced to Rs. 38,844 per annum and this amount was sanctioned as cash muafi in favour of Narayan Rao. There is no original sanad and the earliest document that we find is of the year 1918, when Maharaja Jiwaji Rao reduced the monthly allowance from Rs. 10,000 per month to Rs. 5,000 per month. The document does not show that the grant of maintenance was intended to be heritable. It is true that on the death of Trimbak Rao the grant was continued in favour of his son, Narayan Rao, the deceased, but the amount was further reduced from Rs. 60,000 per annum to Rs. 38,844 per annum. That itself shows that there was no he ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... show that the grant in the instant case was heritable. No material has been placed to give rise to an inference of heritability. The documents filed go to show that although the grant was continued in favour of the successor, it was varied and reduced ; that leads to the conclusion that the successor of the last holder did not acquire the grant by inheritance, but by a new grant from the Government. Stress has been laid by the learned counsel for the revenue on the word " mutation " as it occurs in the order of the Maharaja of Gwalior passed in 1947 and the order of the State Government passed in 1958. The word " mutation" in these two orders is used according to the prevalent practice to signify the recognition of the new grantee. In fact, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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