TMI Blog1985 (3) TMI 95X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Mrs. Veera. Shri Dhairyawan died on 6-10-1973. After his death, Dhairyawan's mother Mrs. Manekbai challenged the validity of the marriage of Dhairyawan with Mrs. Veera. Mrs. Veera applied for letters of administration. The First Civil Judge, Senior Division, Pune, upheld the validity of the said marriage and directed that letters of administration be granted to Mrs. Veera on her furnishing solvent in the sum of Rs. 25 lakhs on her producing estate duty certificate. 3. Dhairyawan owned considerable property. The property came in possession of Mrs. Veera and Mrs. Asha on the death of Dhairyawan. Dhairyawan's mother, Mrs. Manekbai, filed, a suit for the possession of the property of Dhairyawan. In that suit, her alternate prayer was that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Thackersey is included in the hands of the assessee without prejudice to the entire estate being assessed in the hands of executor/administrator of the estate." 5. It would thus be seen that on the one hand, the ITO held that the entire income was assessable in the hands of executor/administrator under section 168, while on the other hand, he assessed the entire income in the individual assessments of Mrs. Veera. He did not make the said assessments of Mrs. Veera, a protective assessment. Identical orders were passed in the four assessment years. 6. Similarly, as already stated, Mrs. Asha had filed returns declaring held income from the estate of Dhairyawan as her individual income. The ITO assessed this income on protective basis, on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lf income. He directed the ITO to make the assessments accordingly. 8. As far as the four appeals relating to Mrs. Veera are concerned, the common ground raised is that the learned AAC had erred in holding that the provisions of section 168 were not applicable in the assessee's case and, consequently, in directing the ITO to accept the half share in the income of the properties left by late Dhairyawan and revise the assessments, accordingly. 9. As far as the four appeals relating to Mrs. Asha are concerned, the common ground raised by the department is that the learned AAC had erred in holding that the assessments made by the ITO in the case of the assessee, Mrs. Asha, was a regular assessment and not the protective assessment. 10. We ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct, it was mentioned that all the properties left by the deceased belonged absolutely to Mrs. Veera and Mrs. Asha from 6-10-1973 as his legal heirs and legal representatives. In the refund vouchers for the assessment years 1971-72 and 1973-74, in respect of the assessments of the deceased, the names of Mrs. Veera and Mrs. Asha were shown as legal heirs of the deceased. Copies of several cheques sent by the estate manager of the Government of India, in respect of rent payable regarding the property left by the deceased, indicate that Mrs. Veera and Mrs. Asha have been mentioned as co-owners. All these materials indicated that Mrs. Veera and Mrs. Asha had acted throughout with effect from the date of death of the deceased as co-owners of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... refer to the subsequent decision of the Bombay High Court in CWT v. Keshub Mahindra [1983] 139 ITR 22. In that decision, the Bombay High Court was called upon to examine the precise scope of section 19A of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957, which is analogous to section 168 of the 1961 Act. In section 19A also, there is an Explanation which says that the term 'executor' includes administrator or other person administering the estate of the deceased person. In that case, it was contended that the sole heir should be assessed as administrator of the estate during the period when the said heir was paying the debts of the deceased and thereby administering the estate. This contention was not accepted. It was held that provisions of section 19A would be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e property vested in them, particularly when the heirs are already in possession as heirs at the time of grant of letters of administration. 15. We may here refer to the decision of the Calcutta High Court in Mahamaya Dassi v. CIT [1980] 126 ITR 748, wherein it was held that appointment of an administrator pendente lite would not attract the provisions of section 168, when the property had vested in definite shares in certain persons. The same principle, in our opinion, would apply when the letters of administration are granted by the Court in the cases of intestate succession. It is to be noted that the purpose for which an order for grant of letters of administration was obtained by Mrs. Veera was to protect, the property from going int ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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