TMI Blog1969 (2) TMI 60X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... governed by the marumakkattayam law. On his death in 1961 the appellant--his brother--became the karta of the family. In 1909 the members of the family, while remaining joint, had entered into an arrangement for separate enjoyment of certain properties of the family by different members. For the assessment year 1958-59 Rajah Padmanabha filed, in the status of a Hindu undivided family, a return under the Expenditure-tax Act of the taxable expenditure incurred by him in respect of the property under his "personal control and direct enjoyment". The Expenditure-tax Officer added thereto the expenditure incurred by the other members of the family in respect of properties set apart for their use and enjoyment. The Expenditure-tax Officer also served a notice of assessment under section 15(2) calling for a return of expenditure by the Hindu undivided family for the assessment year 1959-60. The appellant then moved petitions before the High Court of Kerala under article 226 of the Constitution for writs quashing the assessment and the notice of demand for the year 1958-59 and the notice calling for a return for the assessment year 1959-60 contending, inter alia, that he was not liable t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cial recognition. The mitakshara law of joint family is founded upon agnatic relationship: the undivided family is characterised by community of interest and unity of possession among persons descended from a common ancestor in the male line. The principal incident of marumakkattayam law is that it is matriarchate: members of the family constituting a marumakkattayam tarwad are descended through a common ancestress in the female line with equal rights in the property of the family. Under the customary marumakkattayam law no partition of the family estate may be made, but items of the family property may by agreement be separately enjoyed by the members. On death the interest of a member devolved by survivorship. Management of the family property remained in the hands of the eldest male member, and in the absence of a male member a female member. A tarwad may consist of two or more branches known as thavazhies, each tavazhi or branch consisting of one of the female members of the tarwad and her children and all her descendants in the female line. Every tarwad consisted of a mother and her children--male and female--living in commensality, with joint rights in property. The Dis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of Travancore-Cochin after merger and in the State of Kerala, making changes in the customary Marumakkattayam law: these were the Cochin Makkathayam Thiyya Act, 1115 M.E. (17 of 1115 M.E.); Cochin Marumakkattayam Act, 1095 M.E. (13 of 1095 M.E.); Cochin Nair Act, 1095 M.E. (13 of 1095 M.E.) and Act No. 29 of 1113 M.E; Cochin Paliam Tarwad Act, 1097 M.E. (8 of 1097 M.E.); Cochin Thiyya Act, 1107 M.E. (8 of 1107 M.E.): Travancore Nanjinad Vellala Regulation, 1101 M.E. (6 of 1101 M.E.); Travancore Nayar Regulation, 1088 M.E. (I of 1088 M.E. and II of 1100 M.E.); Travancore Wills Act, 1074 M.E. (6 of 1074 M.E.). It is sufficient to observe that by these statutes significant changes were made in the customary laws governing the family and property relations between the members governed by the marumakkattayam law. The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (30 of 1956), also made inroads upon the customary law. Section 3(h) defined the expression "marumakkattayam law", and by section 7 it was provided that if a Hindu to whom the marumakkattayam or nambudri law would have applied, if the Hindu Succession Act had not been passed, dies, his or her interest in the property of a tarwad, tavazhi or ill ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... makkattayam law is, compared to the Hindus, a small community restricted only to the northern area of the Malabar District. It is again a dwindling community because of the impact of the law of inheritance applicable to share obtained on partition. It is in the light of these special characteristics that the plea of discrimination must be considered. Equal protection clause of the Constitution does not enjoin equal protection of the laws as abstract propositions. Laws being the expression of legislative will intended to solve specific problems or to achieve definite objectives by specific remedies, absolute equality or uniformity of treatment is impossible of achievement. Again tax laws are aimed at dealing with complex problems of infinite variety necessitating adjustment of several disparate elements. The courts accordingly admit, subject to adherence to the fundamental principles of the doctrine of equality, a larger play to legislative discretion in the matter of classification. The power to classify may be exercised so as to adjust the system of taxation in all proper and reasonable ways; the legislature may select persons, properties, transactions and objects, and apply di ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... persons, all of whom stand in the same relation to the privilege granted and between whom and the persons not so favoured no reasonable distinction or substantial difference can be found justifying the inclusion of one and the exclusion of the other from such privilege... A classification must not be arbitrary, artificial or evasive and there must be a reasonable, natural and substantial distinction in the nature of the class or classes upon which the law operates. In respect to such distinction, a legislative body has a wide discretion and an Act will not be held invalid unless the classification is clearly unreasonable and arbitrary." It is unnecessary to multiply citations. The Parliament has declared for the purpose of the Expenditure-tax Act an undivided family of Hindus as a unit of taxation and imposed tax at the rates prescribed. To fall within the description the unit must be an undivided family of Hindus. Within the expression "Hindu undivided family" will fall an undivided family of Hindus governed by the marumakkattayam law. Even though the basic scheme of a Hindu undivided family governed by the mitakshara law and the marumakkattayam law is different in two impo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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