BHAGWATI, J.:- The short question that arises on this Reference is whether certain lands belonging to the assessee, a Hindu undivided family, are agricultural lands within the meaning of Section 2(e)(i) of the Wealth Tax Act and are, therefore, exempt from assessment to wealth-tax under the Act. The lands consist of four plots bearing Nos. 801, 964, 970 and 346/4A situate in Eillis Bridge area in the City of Ahmedabad. Out of the four plots, the first is situate on the main road leading to Sarkhej while the other three are situate on the 801 road leading from the High Court and joining the Sarkhej Road some distance away from Paldi. All the four plots are situate within Municipal limits and are comprised in the Town Planning Scheme which came into force sometime in 1945. The area in which these plots are situate is a residential area and there are numerous residential houses around these plots. The first three out of these plots were obtained by the assessee on partition, plot No. 801 on 14th December 1928 and plots Nos. 994 and 970 on 2nd March 1918 and they were cultivated by the assesses until about 1934-35, but since that time they have been used for any agricultural purpose. The last plot No. 345/4A admeasuring 670 sq. yards was acquired by the assessee jointly with one Kantilal C. Mehta on 16th December 1951 for the price of Rs. 13,711/- i.e., at the rate of about Rs. 20/- per sq. yard and ever since it was acquired it has not been put to any agricultural use. All these plots are assessed to land revenue for the purpose of agriculture and the assesses has not obtained permission of the Revenue authorities under the provisions of the Bombay Land Revenue Code to make non-agricultural use of them. On these facts the assessee contended before the Wealth Tax Officer assessing it to wealth-tax for the assessment year 1957-58, the relevant valuation date being 2nd November 1956 that these plots were agricultural lands and their value was not liable to be included in computing the net wealth of the assessee. A similar claim was also made by the assessee in regard to the assessment to wealth-tax for the assessment year 1958-59 for which the relevant valuation date was 23rd October 1957, but that claim was confined only to plots Nos. 984 and 348/4A since the other two plots had gone out of the Hindu undivided family of the assessee prior to the valuation date as a result of partition effected on 18th October 1957. The claim for exclusion of the value of these plots was rejected by the Wealth Tax Officer but on appeal it was allowed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Revenue thereupon appealed to the Tribunal. The Tribunal took the view that these plots were not agricultural lands within the meaning of Section 2(e)(i) and their value was, therefore, not liable to be included in computing the net wealth of the assessee. This view of the Tribunal is now challenged before us on the present Reference on behalf of the assessee.

2. The Wealth Tax Act imposes a tax on the net wealth of the assessee and "net wealth" is defined in Section 2(m) to mean the amount by which the aggregate value computed in accordance with the provisions of the Act of all the assets, wherever located, belonging to the assessee on the valuation date, including assets required to be included in his net wealth as on that date under the Act, is in excess of the aggregate value of all the debts owed by the assessee on the valuation date barring certain debts specified in the section. The wealth-tax is thus a tax on the capital value of assets held by an assessee. It is therefore clear that this legislation has been enacted by the Parliament under Entry 86 of List I of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution but as that Entry itself expressly provider, the power of the Parliament to make a law imposing tax on the capital value of assets held by an assessee under that Entry does not extend to agricultural land and the Parliament cannot, therefore, ma