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TMI Blog1985 (4) TMI 92X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the Indian Succession Act, 1925. 3. Nariman Irani had produced a film in regard to which he had granted distribution rights to several parties. The distribution was subject to minimum guarantee and during the lifetime of Nariman Irani, he had received what was receivable as minimum guarantee. After his death, the film had earned some excess income and as a result thereof, the distributors had to pay a percentage of the income according to the contract, they had made with the deceased. That is how Salma Irani had received money from various distributors after the death of Nariman Irani. We may here note that there were debts which Nariman Irani had to pay. 4. Nariman Irani died intestate. Salma Irani applied and obtained from the Bombay ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ntative, was that Salma Irani having obtained letters of administration in regard to the estate of her deceased husband cannot now be allowed to say that she is not administering the estate of her deceased husband, particularly so when there were debts repayable out of the assets of the deceased. He placed dependence upon the judgment of the Bombay High Court in the case of CIT v. Mrs. Usha D. Shah [1981] 127 ITR 850 and the judgment of the Karnataka High Court in the case of Estate of Late H.H. Rajkuerba, Dowager Maharani Saheb of Gondal v. CIT [1982] 135 ITR 393 to contend that section 168 has application to this case. We must note here that the Commissioner (Appeals) relied upon these two later mentioned case law to reject the contention ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent against an executor receiving income of the estate of the deceased person and the corresponding provision in the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 ('the 1957 Act') for assessment against an executor regarding wealth of the estate of the deceased person is section 19A of the 1957 Act. Although there is no analogy between the provisions of the 1961 Act and assessments under the 1957 Act, owing to basic and fundamental difference between the chargeable events, as pointed out by their Lordships of the Madras High Court in the case of A. & F. Harvey Ltd. v. CWT [1977] 107 ITR 326 at p. 339, it can be seen that both section 168 of the 1961 Act and section 19A of the 1957 Act provide for a special case of assessment against executors and the language in th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s true that some observations of their Lordships in Mrs. Usha D. Shah's case to some extent, indicate that the Explanation to section 168 is intended to include a person who is in de facto management of the deceased person. But as the facts show, the person who was managing the property of the deceased had apparently no title and the deceased had left a will and the entitlement of the legatees to receive property according to the will had been questioned by the person who was managing the property of the estate. Mr. Chandurkar, CJ. who delivered the judgment in Mrs. Usha D. Shah's case has explained this while disposing of the case in Keshub Mahindra. 11. The Karnataka High Court in Estate of Late H.H. Rajkuerba, Dowager Maharani Saheb of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The case of Salma Irani, in our opinion, has to be held as one not coming within the compass of section 168. The property was inherited by wife, minor children and mother. The wife had been in charge of the persona and property of her minor children. There is no question of administering the estate and all that she had to do was to discharge certain debts. The Bombay High Court has in Keshub Mahindra's case said that once the property absolutely vests in the heir according to law of succession, then the ownership is not in any way affected by the fact that the heir is required to discharge debts of the deceased or he was to recover debts due to the deceased. On the same principle, Salma Irani cannot be said to be administering the estate of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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