1. - This is a reference made by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur Bench, Jaipur, by which the following question of law arising out of the order of the aforesaid Tribunal dated February 22, 1974, has been referred to this court:

"Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal is right in holding that the assets transferred by him to his wife and minor sons on November 4, 1964, are includible in his wealth in accordance with section 4(1)(a) of the Wealth-tax Act in the wealth of the assessee who is an individual ?"

2. The facts and circumstances in which this reference arises may be briefly stated. The respondent, Prithvi Singh, who will hereinafter be referred to as "the assessee", was the holder of an impartible estate known as the jagir of Bisalpur, situated in district Pali in the State of Rajasthan. The jagir was said to have been granted to the forefathers of the assessee more than 300 years ago and succession to the jagir was governed by the rule of primogeniture. Thus, the jagir was ancestral and passed by succession to the senior member in the main line of the original grantees. The jagir of Bisalpur was resumed in the year 1954 by