JUDGMENT :

1. The writ petition has been filed challenging Ext. P5 order of the 1st respondent and Ext. P6 order of the 2nd respondent. According to the petitioners, the income (interest on fixed deposits) accruing to the 2nd petitioner - a minor - cannot be clubbed with the income of the 1st petitioner and that tax at source cannot be deducted in respect of the interest income accruing on the fixed deposit under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act).

2. The facts of the case, in brief, are that the 1st petitioner herein is a regular income tax assessee. The 2nd petitioner (minor) is the daughter of the 1st petitioner. The husband of 1st petitioner/father of the 2nd petitioner, Vinod Easaw Varghese, died in an accident. The 1st Addl. Subordinate Judge’s Court, Thiruvananthapuram, vide Ext.P3 order in OP (Succession) No. 44/2008 (dated 12.11.2009), held that the 1st petitioner is entitled to 1/3rd share and that the 2nd petitioner is entitled to 2/3rd share from the estate of the deceased, which includes amounts received as compensation owing to the death of the aforesaid Vinod Easaw Varghese. In terms of Ext.P3 order, the 2nd petitioner’s share was to be deposited as a