COMMR. OF INCOME TAX vs SANDHYA RANI DUTTA — C.A. No. 5450 - 5451/1997

Case Summary The Supreme Court reversed the High Court's decision and ruled that Hindu female heirs cannot form a joint Hindu family by agreement among themselves. The Court held that the presence of a male member is a fundamental requirement for constituting a Hindu undivided family under Hindu personal law, and that female members cannot pool their separately inherited property into joint family assets, regardless of any agreement between them. Consequently, the assessee (widow) remained individually assessable for income tax on her one-third share of inherited property for assessment years 1974-75 and 1975-76. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.