C. his wife, and his three sons were originally assessed to income-tax in the status of a Hindu undivided family. C filed a suit in 1948 iu the High Court of Bombay for partition and separate possession of his share in c the joint family estate. In 1950 the High Court passed a decree. by consent declarine that as from October 15, 1947 the joint family stood dissolved, that all the members of the family had become separate in food, worship and estate from th"at date, and that each member of the family was entitled to a fifth share in the properties movable and immovable belonging to the family subject to the right of maintenance in favour of C's mother. Pursuant to the decree C took his share in D the properties allotted to him, separately. The other properties remained undivided between C's wife and his three sons each holding a fourth share as tenant in common witfi the other co-sharers. In December 1952, C applied to the Income-tax Officer for an order recording the partition and requesting that assessment be made of the members of the family separately in .accordance with the pro\isions of s. 23 read with s. 25A of the Income-tax Act, 1922. The Income-tax Officer by an order in January 1953 granted the application and for the period after tho High E Court's decree assessed all the members of the erstwhile family separately. Subsequently however a notice under s. 34 of the Act for the assessment years 1951-52, 1952-53, and 1953-54, for assessing the Hindu undivided family of four members, namely, C's wife and bis sons, was issued on the ground that the income of the family bad escaped assessment. The assessees' plea that they did not, in the years of assessment, ccnstitute a Hindu undivided family and that they could not be so assessed after an order under s. 25A had . once been passed was not F accepted by the Income-tax Officer. The Appellate Assistant Commi•sioner reversed the Income-tax Officer's order but the Appellate Tribunal testored it. The High Court in reference held in favour of the Revenue. The assessee came to this Court in appeal.
