TMI Blog1971 (10) TMI 30X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on the death of the sthanamdar to a per capita share, the fiction having been introduced only for determining the respective share for the purpose of distribution to the members of the family and the heirs of sthanamdar - we affirm the decision of the High Court and dismiss this appeal - - - - - Dated:- 5-10-1971 - K. S. HEGDE., A. N. GROVER JJ. M.C. Chagla and M. R. K. Pillai, for the appellant (in both the appeals). S.T. Desai, M. C. Bhandare and B. D. Sharma, for the respondent (in both the appeals); JUDGMENT GROVER J.--- This is an appeal by special leave from a judgment of the Kerala High Court in which a question of substantial importance arises relating to the extent of the property that attracts estate duty on the death of a sthanee or sthanamdar in a Hindu family governed by the Marumakkattayam law. It may be mentioned that Civil Appeal No. 1137 of 1969 was brought to this court by certificate against the same judgment but the certificate is defective for want of reasons and has therefore to be revoked. One K. K. Thampan who was the third sthanamdar of Kuthiravattathu family died on May 17, 1960. The sthanam owned several properties such as f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion of estate duty. Section 5(1) provides for levy of estate duty and says, inter alia, that in the case of every person dying after the commencement of the Act there shall, save as expressly provided, be levied and paid upon the principal value ascertained as provided of all property settled or not settled which passes on the death of such person, a duty called estate duty at the rate fixed in accordance with section 35. Section 7, to the extent it is material, is reproduced below : 7. Interests ceasing on death.---(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, property in which the deceased or any other person had an interest ceasing on the death of the deceased shall be deemed to pass on the deceased's death to the extent to which a benefit accrues or arises by the cesser of such interest, including, in particular, a coparcenary interest in the joint family property of a Hindu family governed by the Mitakshara, Marumakkattayam or Aliayasanthana law.... (4) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to the property in which the deceased or any other person, had an interest only as holder of an office or recipient of the benefits of a charity, or as a corpor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m meaning literally status, rank or dignity. The holder of a sthanam was called a sthanee or sthanamdar. The rulers granted sthanams to their chieftains and important public officers which were usually accompanied by a grant of land for the maintenance of the dignity of the officer. In addition to the families of princes and chieftains there were other families which possessed sthanams without any particular dignity attached to them. The incidents of the institution were that the seniormost member of the family became the sthanamdar who was usually the male member ; but there were instances where the seniormost female member became the sthanamdar. Separate properties belonged to each sthanam and they vested in the holder of the office for the time being and descended to the successors in office. One important feature was that sthanamdar ceased to have any interest in the property of his tarwad and the members of his tarwad had in their turn only reversionary rights to the sthanam properties. The sthanamdar had a limited estate in the sense that he could encumber or alienate the sthanam properties only for a legal necessity like any limited owner but otherwise he was absolutely ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... thstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), when a sthanamdar dies after the commencement of this Act, the sthanam property held by him shall devolve upon the members of the family to which the sthanamdar belonged and the heirs of the sthanamdar as if the sthanam property had been divided per capita immediately before the death of the sthanamdar among himself and all the members of his family then living, and the shares falling to the members of his family and the heirs of the sthanamdar shall be held by them as their separate property. Explanation.---For the purposes of this sub-section, the family of a sthanamdar shall include every branch of that family, whether divided or undivided, the male members of which would have been entitled by any custom or usage to succeed to the position of sthanamdar if this Act had not been passed. The result of the enactment of section 7(3) of the Succession Act is that the sthanams continued till the death of the sthanamdar and thereafter the sthanam property devolved upon the members of the family to which the sthanamdar belonged and the heirs of the sthanamdar (his personal heirs). The division was to be per capita on the basis of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... could not be done under the general Marumakkattayam law. The partition thus had to be real and effective and the sthanamdar should be considered to have died as a divided member. In other words the true position, according to the learned counsel for the appellant, is that the division per capita under section 7(3) took place immediately before the death of the sthanamdar with the result that the interest which he had in the sthanam property was only to the extent of his share which alone devolved upon his heirs. On the other hand, the position taken up on behalf of the respondent before the High Court, which was accepted and which has been reiterated before us, is that section 7(3) merely creates a legal fiction for the purpose of distribution of the properties which is to take place after the death of the sthanamdar and that being the sole purpose for which the legal fiction was introduced it could not be extended further so as to include an actual division or partition having been effected in the life time of the sthanamdar with the result that he became a divided member for all purposes. We have had occasion to notice in some detail the incidents of the institution of sthana ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 7(3) clearly provides that the property which passes on the death of the sthanamdar is the whole of the sthanam property held by him. The second part only deals with distribution of that property. We have no doubt that the High Court was right in saying that the word devolve as used in the first part has the meaning given to it by Leach M.R. in Parr v. Parr, of passing from a person dying to a person living. Thus, the sthanam property held by the sthanamdar has to pass from the sthanamdar to the members of the family to which he belonged and his heirs. Legal fiction, in the words which have been set out, do not cut down the sthanam property that passes on the death of the sthanamdar to a per capita share, the fiction having been introduced only for determining the respective share for the purpose of distribution to the members of the family and the heirs of sthanamdar. For all the reasons given above we affirm the decision of the High Court and dismiss this appeal (Civil Appeal No. 1421 of 1971) but, in view of the entire circumstances, make no order as to costs. The other appeal (Civil Appeal No. 1137 of 1969) is dismissed owing to the certificate being defective for want o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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