1. This is a reference made by the Madras Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal under S.64 (1) of the Estate Duty Act, 1953 on the application of the assessee. The question referred is: "Whether on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Appellate Tribunal was correct in law in having included the value of the forest lands in the total value of the estate for the purpose of Estate Duty?"

2. The estate concerned in this case is that of Smt. Jayalakshmi Devi and Shri. Madhava Rajah of Kollengode, the former having died on 6th March 1954, and the latter on 9th May 1955. They were members of a Marumakkathayam tarwad; and each of them had admittedly a one-thirteenth share in the tarwad properties on the dates of their deaths. The tarwad had large extents of forest lands situate in the erstwhile Malabar District which was part of the State of Madras till the formation of Kerala on 111 1956. The assessee claimed that forest lands are agricultural lands, and they were not, therefore, liable to estate duty under the Estate Duty Act, 1953. In support of this claim, reliance was made on the decision of the Madras High Court in Sarojini Devi v. Sri Krishna AIR. 1544