HON’BLE SUPREME COURT · SOURCE-REVIEWED NOTE
Kalloomal Tapeswari Prasad (HUF), Kanpur v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Kanpur (and vice versa)
Civil Appeal Nos. 1370 of 1974 and 1768 of 1975
[1982] 3 SCR 9 ·
Income-tax Act, 1961: section 171
Holding and result. Mere severance of status and division of income did not satisfy section 171. Because the properties admitted of physical division by equitable allotment with equalisation, the HUF continued to be assessed until the statutory finding; the assessee appeal was dismissed and Revenue appeal allowed.
Sources & disclosures includedDownload original judgment / order
Two-judge bench; judgment delivered by E. S. Venkataramiah, J. · R. S. Pathak, J. · E. S. Venkataramiah, J.
Assessment years: 1964-65
01 · Facts of the case
The HUF claimed an oral partial partition on 1 December 1963 of eighteen immovable properties worth about Rs.7.26 lakh among ten members. Shares and income were divided, but no properties were allotted by metes and bounds or as whole assets with monetary equalisation. The Income-tax Officer refused a section 171 finding.
02 · Discussion by the Hon’ble Court
Section 171 creates a tax-specific deeming rule: a family previously assessed as undivided continues in that status until a statutory partition finding. For physically divisible property, severance of status or division of income is insufficient. Physical division may be achieved through fair allotment of entire properties to members with equalisation payments where literal fragmentation is impracticable.
Source: Primary judgment: reasoning
03 · Judicial decision
The properties were capable of the division required by the Explanation to section 171. No qualifying physical division occurred, so their income remained assessable in the HUF hands.
Source: Primary judgment: holdings
04 · Outcome / in whose favour
Assessee appeal dismissed; Revenue appeal allowed; one set of costs awarded to Revenue.
05 · AKHB REVIEW POINT
AKHB analysis: document not only the private-law severance but the asset-level division and the section 171 finding applicable to the relevant assessment year. Income-sharing entries alone do not establish the statutory physical division considered here.
Source & verification
Download original judgment / order · Open cited source rendition
Complete 29-page SCR report read in page-preserving text and every page image inspected, from the reported opening page through the operative disposition.
- Exact catalogue SHA-256 and 29-page count verified; every page was read and visually inspected.
Statutory scope
Historical statutory provisions are described as they appeared in the report. Verify the current enactment, amendments and later judicial treatment before reliance.
Later treatment
Source checked 2026-10-12. No comprehensive later-treatment or present-law clearance is represented. The note reports the historical statutory text and result in this primary report only.
Page references identify the supplied PDF; paragraph references identify the judgment unless stated otherwise.
AI disclosure & professional disclaimer
This AKHB research note was prepared with AI assistance from the identified primary report and has not been represented as independently human-reviewed.
General legal and tax research only; not legal or tax advice. Verify the complete judgment, governing statutory version and subsequent judicial treatment before reliance. The AKHB REVIEW POINT is editorial analysis, not the Court's holding, and no current-law clearance is claimed.