P C LALL CHAUDHARY Vs. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a reference under Section 66(1), Income-tax Act by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Patna. The question referred for our decision is as under :

(2.) The facts giving rise to the reference are as follows: The assessee installed a deity, Sree Bala Tripura Sundari, in a temple in Purnea City, and for the performance of the worship of the deity he allotted a sum of Rs. 200/- per month out of his income from a fair known as Gulab-bagh Hat. He also allotted a sum of Rs. 1,000/-per year for the repair and maintenance of the temple, which sum, too, was payable from the income of that fair. The assessee created a legal obligation on himself by executing a deed of dedication in favour of the deity on 23-5-1947, in. which the details of the amounts dedicated were given, and it was stipulated as follows:

(3.) The main argument or Mr, S. K. Mazum-dar, appearing on behalf of the assessee, is that, as a legal obligation had been created and the income from the Gulabbag Hat settled on trust in favour of the deity, the expense incurred for maintenance of the temple was exempt from taxation. The argument so advanced has to be judged in the light of the provisions of Section 4(3)(i), Income-tax Act. This clause as it stood before, runs as follows :