The main legal point established in the judgment is that the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975 aimed to abolish the joint family system among Hindus in Kerala and did not intend to create new rights for female members of a joint Hindu family governed by Mitakshara law.

K.K. Usha, J.

The above Original Petitions are filed by an assessee under S.60(2) and 60(3) of the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 for orders directing the Commissioner, Agricultural Income Tax, Thiruvananthapuram to refer questions of law extracted in the petition for opinion of this court. Common issue arising in these petitions is whether a sole coparcener with his wife and daughter or daughters can be treated as a joint Hindu Family coming under S.4(2) of the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975 and whether the members of that family can be assessed under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 as tenants in common. Since the petitioners contended that the decision of this Court in Dy, Commissioner of Sales tax v. R.S. Chidambaram 1993 KLJ (Tax Cases) 576, would require reconsideration in the light of the decisions of the Supreme Court in Gowli Buddanna v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Mysore, AIR 1966 SC 1523, N.V. Narendranath v. Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1970 SC 14, and Surjit Lai Chabda v. Commissioner of Income tax, Bombay, (1975) 101 ITR page 776, the above petitions were referred by a Bench for consideration of a Larger Bench. These Original Petitions have come up for our consideration on such reference.

2. Petitioners are the legal representatives of late Koloor Nanjappa, an assessee under the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950. Relevant assessment years are 1983-'84,1986-'87 and 1987-'88. The assessee filed returns claiming status of tenants in common along with his wife and daughter. The parties are following Mitakshara School of Hindu Law. The assessee obtained properties, income from which is sought to be assessed, under a partition between himself, his father and father's brother. The assessee had no sons. The contention raised by the assessee that consequent upon the coming into force of the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975, himself, his wife and daughter should be treated as tenants in common by applying S.4(2) of Act was accepted by the assessing authority and assessments were finalised on the above basis. The Commissioner of Agricultural Income Tax Trivandrum issued notice to legal heirs of the original assessee on 28-8-1989 invoking the power under S.34 of the Act proposing to revise assessment orders on the ground that the assessee was not entitled to have the assessment completed assigning status of tenants in common, that the properties should be treated as belonging to assessee as his absolute share and no other member of his family had any right over the same. Even though objections were filed by the legal heirs of the assessee, contending that even if they are not coparceners, the property subjected to assessment was still joint family property and sub-s.(2) of S.4 of the Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975 would be applicable in their case, the Commissioner was not. inclined to accept the contention. The matter was remanded to the assessing authority for fresh disposal in accordance with law and in the light of the observations contained in the order passed by the Commissioner.

3. Application filed by the assessee under S.60(2) of the Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1950 seeking reference of certain questions of law for the opinion of this Court was rejected by the Commissioner. The Original Petitions are filed for compelling the Commissioner to refer those questions for the opinion of this Court.

4. The Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act', came into force on 1-12-1976. The preamble of the Act shows that the statute was brought to abolish the joint family system among Hindus in the State of Kerala. The term "Joint Hindu Family" as defined under S.2 would taken in (1) a tarwad or thavazhi governed by the Madras Marumakkathayam Act, 1932, the Travancore Nayar Act, 11 of 1100, the Travancore Ezhava Act 11 of 1100, the Nanjinad Vellala Act of 1101, the Travancore K