TMI Blog1944 (3) TMI 5X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al and the question arises out of his assessment for the year 1939-40. Lal Hira Lal belongs to a family illustrated in the following pedigree table :- R.B. Mohan Lal (deceased) Shrimati Bhagwan Dei Senior widow (issueless) Shrimati Rup Kaur (Junior widow) L. Hira Lal R.B. Sohan Lal Ratan Lal L. Shadi Lal (deceased) Chaman Lal Chaman Lal separated from his brothers before 1930 and after his separation the family continued joint consisting of the other four brothers mentioned above and the two widows of R.B. Mohan Lal deceased. On the 30th of June, 1936, the four brothers and the two widows appointed an arbitrator to settle a partition of the property. He gave an award o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d that the maintenance allowances were received by the widows as members of a Hindu undivided family and that payment of the amount is a disbursement of the family income and as such, is taxable as part of the family income. Now before disruption in 1936 there was undoubtedly a Hindu undivided family of which Hira Lal and his brothers were coparceners and the two widows were members, but following the partition in 1936 there was a disruption. It may be that the assessee Hira Lal has now his own joint family of which he himself is the head, but it cannot be said that after the disruption in 1936 there was any joint family of which both Hira Lal and the two widows of the late R.B. Mohan Lal were members. Consequently it cannot be said in t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for maintenance against him directing the payment to her of a monthly allowance. A question arose whether the sum so paid by the assessee to his stepmother could be included in his income for the purpose of assessing the income-tax. We came to the conclusion after consideration of the judgment of their Lordships of the Privy Council that the ratio decidendi in such cases is that if the payment is voluntary, it must be included in the income of the assessee, but if the charge is obligatory (that is, subject to an overriding charge such as a decree) the sum so charged must be excluded from the income of the payer. We also referred to a judgment of this Court in Kishen Kishore v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Punjab [1933] 1 ITR 143, whic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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