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TMI Blog1964 (2) TMI 7X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arumakkathayam law. The other four appeals arise out of writ petitions by karanavans of Hindu undivided families in Malabar and Cochin. These five writ petitions challenged the constitutionality of the Wealth-tax Act, No. 27 of 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and prayed for the quashing of the wealth-tax assessments made in these cases. There are certain differences of facts in the five petitions, but we do not propose to refer to those differences as we propose to confine ourselves to the attack on the constitutionality of the Act. The main contentions of the respondents before the High Court with respect to the constitutionality of the Act were two-fold, namely---(1) that Parliament was not competent to include Hindu undivided ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he High Court was that muslim Mopla tarwads were so insignificant in number that their existence could be ignored and the practice of the appellant had been to assess such tarwads under the Act as individuals. The High Court however was not impressed by this contention on behalf of the appellant and said that it behoved the department to furnish some information to sustain the contention that Muslim Mopla tarwads were so insignificant in number as to be negligible and that had not been done. The High Court, therefore, finally held that there was discrimination as between Hindu undivided families and Muslim Mopla tarwads which were also undivided families and, therefore, the charging section in so far as it governed undivided families was hi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the interest of justice that it is necessary that an opportunity should be given to the respondents to put forward their case under article 14 properly before the High Court supported by facts and figures. We are also of opinion that after such facts and figures are put forward by the respondents before the High Court, an opportunity should be given to the State to meet the facts and figures and thereafter the High Court should proceed to consider whether there has been denial of equality before the law or of equal protection of the laws so far as undivided families are concerned. In this view of the matter, it is unnecessary at this stage for us to consider whether the view of the High Court on the first question relating to legislative ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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