TMI Blog1966 (10) TMI 43X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... At the time of his death he left a large number of followers. During his lifetime he initiated some of his followers as his disciples and those so initiated came to be known as Murids. At the time of the demise of the saint, the number of Murids was about 400. The descendants of the Murids also became Murids. Thus the class of Murids consists of the descendants of the Murids initiated by the saint in his lifetime. After the death of the saint in 1742, his disciples and devotees subscribed moneys and collected donations for the purpose of building a Roza or Dargah (mausoleum) to commemorate his memory. Besides the Roza, a mosque was also built for the purpose of offering Fatiahs and prayers. In accordance with Islamic doctrine, all Muslims, whether Murids or non-Murids, had unrestricted access to the Roza and the mosque. Now the maintenance of the Roza and the mosque required moneys and so also did the observance of festive occasions such as Urs, death anniversaries, etc., at these institutions. Several gifts of properties were, therefore, made by Murids for these purposes and certain properties were also purchased by persons in management out of offerings made at these institution ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ook after the properties of the Roza, maintain the Roza and the mosque and defray the expenses incurred on Urs and other functions in the Roza. The committee (hereinafter called the " Roza Committee ") thereafter carried on the management and administration of the Roza properties. In 1923, the Mussalman Wakf Act was passed which gave rise to considerable litigation between the Roza Committee on the one hand and the Anjuman-i-Islam representing the Muslim community in general. With a view to prevent interference in the management of the Roza Committee by the Muslims in general, the Roza Committee took up the stand that the Mussalman Wakf Act did not apply to their case. While the litigation was pending, the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950, came into force on January 21, 1952. Since the Act required applications to be made for registration of all public trusts, the Roza Committee made an application to the Charity Commissioner on May 30, 1952, for registration of the wakf. The application was made under protest since the contention of the Roza Committee was that the wakf was not a wakf for the benefit of the public but was a wakf merely for the benefit of the Murids and was, therefore ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for public, religious or charitable objects ? 2. Whether the income from the wakf properties for the relevant assessment years is entitled to exemption under section 4(3)(i) and/or 4(3)(ii) of the Indian Income-tax Act ? " The High Court answered both the questions against the appellant, holding that, upon the evidence given, the purpose of the wakf included the maintenance of madrassas and the library which was not proved to be a wholly religious purpose. The High Court also held that the class of Murids did not constitute a section of the community so as to satisfy the test of public benefit involved in a charitable purpose, but was merely a fluctuating body of private individuals and, therefore, rejected the claim for exemption on the basis that the wakf was a wakf wholly for a charitable purpose. In support of this view the High Court relied upon the decision of the House of Lords in Oppenheim v. Tobacco Securities Trust Co. Ltd. Section 4(3)(i) of the Act, as it stood at the material time, was to the following effect : " 4. (3) Any income, profits or gains falling within the following classes shall not be included in the total income of the person receiving them : ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce, the High Court has interfered with the finding of the Tribunal on this point. The High Court considered that the maintenance of madrassas and the library must be taken to be one of the original purposes of the wakf and the finding of the Tribunal that the wakf was wholly for a religious purpose must be overruled. It is manifest that the question as to what was the object of the wakf is essentially a question of fact and the High Court had, therefore, no justification for interfering with the finding of the Tribunal on this point. It was pointed out by this court in India Cements Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax that in a reference under section 66 of the Act the High Court must accept the findings of fact made by the Appellate Tribunal, and it is not open to the High Court to reopen the findings of fact unless the party concerned has applied for a reference to challenge those findings first by an application under section 66(1) of the Act. If he has failed to file an application expressly raising the question about the validity of the findings of fact, he is not entitled to urge before the High Court that the findings are vitiated for one reason or another. Similarly, in anot ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... quisite to establish it as charitable. Reference was also made to a later decision in Mohamed Falil Abdul Caffoor and Others (Trustees of the Abdul Caffoor Trust) v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Colombo, in which it was held by the Judicial Committee that in view of the absolute priority to the benefit of the trust income which was conferred on the grantor's own family by clause (2)(b)(i) of the trust deed, this was a family trust and not a trust of a public character wholly for charitable purpose, and the income thereof was accordingly not entitled to the exemption claimed by the appellant. In our opinion, it is not necessary to express any concluded opinion on this aspect of the case, because we have already held that the appellant is entitled to exemption from being taxed on the ground that the income was derived from property held under a legal obligation wholly for a religious purpose. For these reasons we hold that the judgment of the High Court should be set aside and the questions referred to the High Court must be answered in the affirmative and in favour of the assessee. We accordingly allow these appeals with costs. There will be one consolidated hearing fee. Appeal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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