JUDGMENT - Chagla, C.J.

1. This reference raises the question whether a certain indenture of trust settles property wholly for charitable purposes and whether income derived by the trustees is exempt from payment of tax under Section 4 (3) (i) of the Act. The trust we are concerned with was executed on June 11, 1941, and significantly enough it is described as "Gordhandas Govindram Family Charity Trust". Clause

2 of the trust deed provides for the application of the balance of the income (after payment of all necessary outgoings) in giving help or relief to such poor Vaishya Hindoos or other Hindoos as the trustees may consider deserving of help in the manner and to the extent specified in the said trust deed and subject to the conditions and directions stated in the next following clauses and/or for the charitable object or objects thereinafter mentioned. Therefore, the relief to poor Vaishyas or other Hindoos is qualified by the conditions which are prescribed in the subsequent clauses. Sub-clause (a) of Clause 3 provides that poor Vaishya Hindoos who are members of Seksaria family shall be preferred to poor Vaishyas not belonging to the said family and poor Vaishyas of Navalgadh shall be preferred to poor Vaishya Hindoos of any other place in or outside India. Sub-clause (b) provides for maintenance that is to be paid to any poor male descendant of the settlor. Sub-clause (c) provides for the maintenance of any unmarried female descendant of the settlor. Sub- clause (d) provides for payment of marriage expenses to any poor male descendant of the settlor. Sub-clause (e) provides for the marriage expenses of any poor female descendant of the settlor. The Sub- clauses that follow thereafter provide for payment of money to the poor male or female descendants of the other members of the Seksaria family. Having exhausted all the members of the family, both for the purposes of maintenance and for marriage expenses, Sub- clause (r) provides for the payment of Rs. 5 per month as by way of maintenance to any poor male Vaishya Hindoo who may be deserving of help, and Sub-clause (s) provides for a similar payment to be made to any female Vaishya Hindoo for maintenance who may be deserving of help. Then Sub- clause (t) provides for payment of Rs. 500 as marriage expenses of any poor male Vaishya Hindoo who may be deserving of help and Sub-clause (u) provides for the payment of Rs. 500 as marriage expenses of any poor female Vaishya Hindoo who may be deserving of help. Clause 4 of the trust deed provides for the disposal of the surplus of the income, and the provision is that the trustees may apply the balance or surplus in their absolute discretion for giving monetary help or relief to poor members of the Hindoo community in such way as they consider most advantageous to the objects of such charity, and liberty is given to the trustees to hand over the unpaid balance or such part of it to the trustees of "Gordhandas Govmdram Charity Trust" which was another trust created by the settlor on March 25, 1941. These are the material provisions of the trust deed and the question that arises is whether within the meaning of the Income-tax Act the property under this trust is held wholly for religious or charitable purposes.

2. Now, "charitable purpose" is defined, and the definition is that it includes relief of the poor, education, medical relief and advancement of any other object of general public utility. Therefore, it is clear, apart from authorities, that in India relief of the poor by itself would not be a charitable object unless it involved an object of general public utility. To further analyse this proposition it must result in any charity which was intended for the relief of the poor relatives of the settlor or donor not being a charity that falls within the definition of the Act. It is impossible to contend that relief of poverty when that relief is restricted to members of ones family can be a charitable object which is of genera

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