1. The short question that arises in all these writ petitions is whether, under the Income Tax Act, tax is required to be deducted at source, from payments by way of salary/pension made by the Government, to persons who are members of religious congregations. The writ petitions were filed in the wake of instructions, issued by the Income Tax authorities to the District Treasury Officers in the State, calling upon them to deduct tax at source from such payments made to members of religious congregations. While in most of the writ petitions, the religious congregation concerned is the petitioner, in W.P.(C).No.10/2015, an individual member of the religious congregation is the petitioner.

2. The brief facts necessary for a disposal of these writ petitions is as follows:

The members of the religious congregations concerned are employed as teachers in various aided educational institutions in the State. The remuneration that they draw, for the teaching services rendered by them, is in the nature of salary that is paid to them by the State Government. In one case, the payment made is of pension, subsequent to the retirement of the member from service. The payments are made to them through the educational institution in question pursuant to a disbursal of the amounts through the Government Treasury. The issue as to whether or not the amounts by way of fees or earnings, received by the members of the religious congregation, would be treated as income in their hands, had engaged the attention of the Central Board of Direct Taxes as early as in 1944, when it was clarified that fees and other earnings of missionaries, that they were obliged to make over to the congregation to which they belonged, would not be treated as income in their hands but viewed as diverted by overriding title to the congregation of which they were a part. While the said Circular of 1944, and the subsequent Instructions of 1977, are said to be in force even today, the respondent authorities began to issue instructions to the District Treasury Officers in the State, to deduct tax at source from payments, by way of salary and pension, made to members of religious congregations. The said instructions are impugned in the writ petitions inter alia on the grounds that (i) they run counter to the instructions of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, issued in terms of Section 119 of the IT Act, that are binding on all authorities under the IT Act and (ii) they run counter to the well accepted legal position that members of religious congregations cannot own property, and whatever amounts are received by them towards earnings is diverted by overriding title to the congregation and forms part of the latter's income.

3. A statement has been filed on behalf of the respondents, wherein the stand taken is that the instructions issued by the CBDT in 1977, dealt only with fees and not with salary income and hence, in respect of salary income, there was no binding instruction of the CBDT that held the field. It is also pointed out that, insofar as the members of the religious congregations were receiving the income in return for services rendered by them, the salary income had accrued to them, and the subsequent making over to the congregation was only an instance of application of income. The instructions issued to the District Treasury Offices are sought to be justified on the said basis.

4. I have heard learned Senior Counsel Sri.Kurien George Kannanthanam, as well as Sri.A.Kumar and Sri.K.T.Thomas on behalf of the petitioners and the learned Senior Counsel Sri. P.K.Ravindranath Menon for the Income Tax department.

5. The submissions of learned counsel for the petitioners can be summarised as follows:

The Central Board of Direct Taxes had, by its Circular dated 24.01.1944, followed by its Instructions dated 05.12.1977, clearly indicated that, in so far as the fees and other earnings received by the missionaries are to be made over to the congregation concerned, there is an