Holding

The amounts received as compassionate payments are capital receipts and not taxable income.

Summary

Shrimant Padmaraje R. Kadambande, a descendant of the former ruler of Kolhapur, received a monthly cash allowance that was discontinued after the State of Kolhapur merged with Bombay under the Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955. The Act abolished such alienations, but Section 15(1)(d) permitted a discretionary compassionate payment, which the government continued to pay to the assessee. The Income Tax Officer treated the payments received in the assessment years 1963-64 to 1969-70 as taxable income, a view upheld by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, the Tribunal and the High Court. The assessee contended that the payments were capital receipts, not income, because they were voluntary, without a legal right, and made on compassionate grounds. The Supreme Court held that the nature and quality of the payment, not its nomenclature or periodicity, determine its character, and concluded that the compassionate payments were capital receipts exempt from tax under Section 2(24) of the Income‑Tax Act. Consequently, the Court set aside the tax assessments and allowed the appeals.

Issues considered

The payments made under clause (d) of Section 15(1) of the Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955, are they capital receipts or income within the meaning of Section 2(24) of the Income‑Tax Act, 1961?
Does the marginal heading ‘compensation’ of Section 15 control the interpretation of the provision?

Legislation cited

Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955s. 15(1), s. 2(1)(III), s. 4
Income Tax Act, 1961s. 2(24)

Subjects

income taxcapital receiptcompassionate paymentalienationSection 2(24)Bombay Merged Territories Acttax exemptionnature of receipt

Judgment

SHRIMANT PADMARAJE R. KADAMBANDE A
v.
COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, PUNE

APRIL 22, 1992

[S. MOHAN AND G. N. RAY, JJ.] B

Income Tax Act, 1961:

Section 2(24 )-Assessee in receip~ of compassionate payment in lieu of
cash allowance abolished-Payment purely compassionate, discretionary and C
voluntary, at the request of the assessee-Assessee having no right to demand
payment-Absence of any foundation for source of any Income-Whether
payment constituted capital receipt and hence not taxable-Whether payment
was capital receipt or income depends on nature and quality of payment and
source of income and not its nomenclature or periodicity. Bombay Merged
Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955: Section 15(1). D
Interpretation of Statutes-Internal aids-Marginal Heading of a Sec-
tion--Wliether can control meaning of Section, when it is clear and unam•
biguous.

The appellant-assessee, the descendant of the late ruler of Kolhapur
E
State was sanctioned a monthly cash allowance by the successor to the late
ruler. After the merger of the princely State with the then State of Bombay,
the cash allowance was discontinued, in view of the provisions of the
Bombay Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955
which abolished miscellaneous alienations of various kinds prevailings in F
the merged territories. However, in view of sub-section (1) clause (d) of
Section 15 of the Act which provided that a aish allownace could be paid
as a compassionate payment notwithstanding the abolition of all aliena-
tions under Section 4 of the Ac:t, the assesses continued to receive the cash
allowance on modified terms. 'This amount was also reduced sub'sequently G
on ilccotint of misappropriation of a part of the trust amount deposited in
a Bank.

For the assessment years 1963-64 and 1964-65 the assessee received
Rs.36,000 and Rs.33,992 respectively. The contention of the assessee that
these receipts were of a capital nature and, therefore, would not be subject H
705
706 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 2 S.C.R.
\
A to income tax, was negatived by the Income Tax Officer, and the amounts
).;...-
~ere assessed to ta.x in each of the assessment years.

The assessee's appeals against the Income Tax Officer's orders were
rejected by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, as well as the Appellate
Tribunal.
B
On a reference made to it, the High Court upheld the decision of the ·,,....-
taxing 3uthorities and the Tribunal that the amounts received by the
assessee during the two· relevant financial years were income within the
meaning of Income Tax Act and that they could not be regarded as capital
receipts in the hands of the assessee.
c
Hence the assessee filed appeals, by special leave, before this Court
not only in respect of the aforesaid assessment years, but also in respect
of the assessment years 1965-66 to 1969-70. -""
On behalf of the appellant-assessee it was contended that where any
D
cash allowance, which was included in the definition of alienation was
granted under Section 15(l)(d) of the Bombay Merged Territories Miscel-
laneous Alienation Act, the said payment was on compassionate ground,
and was entirely different from those allowances paid under clauses (i),(ii)
and (iii) of the Section, and therefore, the High Court was not correct in
E holding that it was a receipt of revenue and would not amount to compen-
sation when the statute declares otherwise, and that the interpretation of
""\-
Section 15 ran counter to the spirit of the Section.

Ou behalf of the respondent-Revenue, it was contended that if it was
not windfall and if there was regularity in paymen!, that would be enough
F to constitute income; that where the assessee was paid maintenance al-
lowance periodically it could not be claimed as compensation; and that
though the marginal heading of the Section was compensation that did not
control the operation of the Section or the interpretation of Section 15.

G Allllwing the appeals, this Court,
.:
HELD: 1.1. The amounts received by the assessee in lieu of cash
allowance abolished by Section 4 of the Bombay Merged Territories Mis-
cellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955 during tht' financial years in
question are capital receipts and, therefore, are not income within the
H meaning of Section 2(24) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. [725 G]
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. 707

'"---__~
1.2. Neither the nomenclature nor the periodcity of the payment A
would be the determinative factors as to whether the amounts received
were capital in nature. Regard must be had only to the nature and quality
of payment. (722 G]

1.3. The compassionate payment was sanctioned by the Government B
under clause (d) of proviso to Section 15(1) of the Bomaby Merged
-r' Territories/Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955. Those cases
falling under sub-section (1), clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of Section 15 fall
under a different category than what is covered under clause (d) of the
proviso. While clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) provide for statutory payment at
different rates of payments for different categories of persons, in the case c
of a person falling under clause (d), it requires an alienee to make an
application. If such an application bad been in the prescribed form before
>-- - the first day of August, 1958, the State Government, if satisfied after such
enquiry, as it thinks fit, that the applicant has no other source of income,
a compassionate payment, equal to such allowance during his life time or D
for lesser period, as the State Government may deem fit. [717 A-CJ

1.4. In such of th.,se cases falling under clause (d) of the proviso to
...... Section 15(1) of the Act, no statutory right is created, unlike those falling
under clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) which constitute different clauses. [719 B] E
y-
__.,.,.. 1.5. There is no compulsion on the part of the Government to make,
the payment nor is the Government obliged to make the payment since it
is purely discretionary. The payment made by the Government is undoub-
~
tedly voluntary. However, it has no origin in what might be called the real
F
source of income. No doubt, clause (d) of proviso to Section 15(1) enables
the applicant to seek payment but that is far froni saying that it is a source.
Therefore it cannot afford any foundation for such a source. Further it is
r a compassionate payment, for such length of period as the Government
may, in its discretion, order. (723 D, 724 8)
G
1.6. The marginal heading of Section 15 is "compensation". The fact
that under clauses (i), ·(ii) and (iii) of Section 15(1) the compensation is
paid as of right and in cases falling under clause (d) of the proviso, it is
-- ~)-. a discretionary payment would not stamp the payment with a character of
revenue. (723 8) H
708 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 2 S.C.R.

A 1.7. In the instant case, the assessee lost her right to the allowances.
Thereafter, on an applicatfon made by her, the payment is made by way of
compassion under clause (d) of proviso to Section 15(1). The mere fact,
after the order is made it becomes an enforceable right, is neither here nor
there. The fact that the assessee has applied for a grant for maintenance
nor again, the periodicity of payment, would be conclusive. (722 G-H]
B
S.R.Y. Sivaram. Prasad Bahadur v. Commissioner of Income-Tax,
Andhra Pradesh, 82 ITR 527 at 537 and P.H. Divacha v. Commissioner of
Income Tax, Bombay City I, 48 ITR 222 at 231-32,relied on.

C Raja Rameshwara Rao v. Commissioner of Income-tax Hyderabad, 49
ITR SC 144 and Raghuvanshi Mills Ltd. v. Commissioner of In.come Tax, 22
ITR 484 at 489, distinguished.

H.H. Maharani Shri Vijaykuverba Saheb of Morvi andAnr. v. Commis- ·
sioner of Income-tax, Bombay City II, 49 ITR 594, approved.
D
E.D. Sassoon & Co. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax, 26 ITR 27
at 49, Commissioner of Income tax v. Kamal Behari Lal Singha, 82 ITR 460,
Chandroji Rao v. Commissioner of Income Tax, 77 ITR 743 and Commis-
sioner of Income Tax v. Shaw Wallace & Co., (1932) ILR 59 Cal. 1343 at p.
E 1352, referred to.

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos. 2201- ~·~
2203 of 1979.

From the Judgment and Order dated 25.7.1978 of the Bombay High
F Court in I.T. Ref. Nos. 121/69, 191/73 and 192 of 1974.

T.A. Ramchandran and A.G. Ratnaparkhi for the appellant.

J. Ramamurthy and Ranbir Chandra for the Respondent.
G The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

MOHAN, J. All these appeals, arising out of a judgment of the High
Court of Bombay (Nagpur Bench), can be dealt with under a common
judgment since they relate to one and same assessee, the appellant before
H us.
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. [MOHAN, J.] 709

Shrimant Padmaraje R. Kadambande is the assessee and the only , A
child of Late Chhatrapati Raja Ram Maharaj, the ruling Chief of the
former State of Kolhapur. Under the Huzur Order dated April 8, 1974 the.
assessee was granted a cash allownace of Rs.3,000 per month from April
1, 1947. This order was passed by the successor of Chhatrapati Raja Ram
Maharaj. After the merger of Kolhapur State in the then State of Bombay, B
the allowance was continued for some time upto July 31, 1955. Thereafter ·
it was discontinued. This was because of the provisions of the Bombay
Merged Territories Miscellaneous Alienations Abolition Act, 1955 '
(hereinafter referred to as the Act). It may be stated at this stage that the
Act was passed to abolish miscellaneous alienations of various kinds
prevailing in the merged territories in the State of Bombay. C

The District Treasury Officer, Kolhapur, by his letter dated April 14,
>--· · 1956 communicated the discontinuance of the said allowance. Under sub-
section (1) clause (d) of Section 15 of the Act it was provided that a cash
allowance could be paid as a compa~sionate payment notwithstanding the , D
abolition of all alienations under Section 4 of the Act. The assessee
continued to receive cash allowance from August 1, 1956 on modified
terms. The sanction of this cash allowance was conveyed to the appellant
by the Collector of Kolhapur through his letter dated October 6, 1959. It
appears that an amount of Rs.10 lakhs out of a trust property in the Bank
of Kolhapur in accordance with the provisions of Indenture of Trust dated •E
October 19, 1947 was misappropriated. The cash allowance that was to be
paid to the assessee under order dated October 6, 1959 was to be reduced
in the circumstances mentioned therein.

For the assessment year 1%3-64 the assessee received a sum of F
Rs.36,000. For the assessment year 1964-65 she received a sum of
Rs.33,992. Before the Income Tax Officer a question arose whether the
amounts received by the assessee were subject to income tax. It was urged
on behalf of the assessee that these receipts were of a capital nature and,
therefore, would not be subject to income tax, This contention was nega-
tived by the Income Tax Officer who subjected the respective amounts to G
tax in each of the assessment years.

Being aggrieved by the said asses!lment orders an appeal was
preferred by the assessee before th·e Appellate Assistant Commissioner.
Two alternative .contentions were urged on behalf of the assessee:- H
710 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 2 S.C.R.

A (i) the receipts were of a capital nature and, therefore, would
be exempt from income tax.

(ii) having regard to the casual and non-recurring nature of this
income it would be exempt under secticn 10(3) of the
Income Tax Act.
B
Rejecting these two contentions, the Appellate Assistant Commis-
sioner confirmed the orders of the Income Tax Officer.

The appeal to the Tribunal was preferred urging the same conten-
tions but without success. Thereafter a reference was made for determina-
C tion by the High Court for the assessment years 1963-64 and 1964-65 which
reads as under:-

" Whether the amounts of Rs.36,000 and Rs.33,992 received by
Shrimant Padamraje R. Kadambande of Kolhapur from the
Government of Maharashtra during the financial years ended
D
31.3.1963 and 31.3.1964 are receipts of an income nature and
taxable under the provisions of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922
(sic) (1961)?"

The High Court on reference to the statutory provisions of the Act
E and relying on the case in H.H. Maharani Shri Vijaykuverba Saheb of Morvi
and Anr. v. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bombay City II, 49 ITR 594
came to the conclusion that the decision of the taxing authol'ities and the
Tribunal that the amounts received by the assessce druing the two relevant
financial years were income within the meaning of Income Tax Act. They
could not be regarded as capital receipts in the hands of the assessee.
F Accordingly the reference was answered in the affirmative in favour of the
revenue. It is under these circumstances, civil appeals arose, special leave
petitions having been granted on 10th August, 1979.

Civil appeal No.2201 of 1979, directed against the order passed in
G Income Tax Reference No.192 of 1974, relates to assessment year 1970-71
corresponding to financial year 1969-70.

Civil Appeal No.2202 of 1979, directed against the order passed in
Income tax Reference No.191 of 1973, relates to assessment years 1965-66,
1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69 and 1969-70 corresponding to financial years
H 1964-65 to 1968-69. +-·-.
SHRIMANT KADAMBAN!.>E . v. C. I. T. [MOHAN, J.J 71~

--~ Civil Appeal No.2203 of 1979, directed against the order passed in A
Income Tax Reference No.121 of 1969, relates to assessment years 1963-64
and 1964-65 corresponding to financial years 1962- 63 and 1963-64.

The learned counsel for the appellant draws our attention to the
various provision of the Act particularly to Section 2 wherein the definition
:;.
·-{ of alienation is provided. According to him payment was originally made B
under Huzur Order which was abolished consequent to the merger of
Kolhapur State. Section 4 of the Act makes it very clear that all alienations
shall be deemed to have been abolished. The said Section contains a non
obstante clause. However, where any cash allowance which is included in
the definition of alienation is granted under Section 15(1)(d), the said c
payment is on compassionate ground. This payment is entirely different
from those allowances paid under clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of the said
,>-..
Section. If that much is clear the High Court is incorrect in holding that it
is a receipt of revenue and would not amount to compensation when the
statute declares otherwise. The interpretation of Section 15 runs counter
to the spirit of the Section. D

The revenue relies heavily on the case in Raja Rameshwara Rao v.
Commissiom;,r of Income-Tax, Hyderabad, 49 ITR S.C. 144. The case
referred to therein namely Buttlerley's case proceeded on the contention
that the payments were of income nature. Then again, Raja Rameshwara
.r Rao's case (supra) itself came to deal with maintenance allowance as
E
qualified by statute. As a matter of fact, this is explained in S.R. Y. Sivaram
·Prasad Bahadur v. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Andhra Pradesh, 82 ITR

- 527 at 537 wherein it was categorically held "shall be deemed to be interim
maintenance allowances" and therefore, were held as revenue receipts.

The submussion of the learned counsel is that in determining whether
F

payments constitute revenue receipt or not, regard must be had to the
(
y statutory provisions. The principle to be applied is found in P.H. Divecha
v. Commissioner of Income-Tax, Bombay City I, 48 ITR 222 at 231-32. It is
nature and the quality of the payment and not the periodicity whereof
which constitute income. As a matter of fact, the periodicity was not held
G
to be conclusive.

A case similar to the one on hand is H.H. Maharani Shri Vijaykuverba
~ Saheb of Morvi and Anr. (supra) wherein the High Court held that a
voluntary payment without consideration cannot fall in the cateogry of H
712 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (199.2) 2 S.C.R.

A income. The position here is exactly the same. There is no compulsion on
the part of the government to give any allowance. It is purely discretionary.
It cannot be got over by saying that after the order is passed the assessee
gets a right. That has nothing to do in determining the question.

In S.R.Y. Sivaram Prasad Bahadur (supra), in no uncertain terms it
B was laid down that it is the quality of the payment that is decisive of the
character of the payment and not the method of a payment or its measure
which will make it fall within the category of capital or revenue. Undoub-
tedly, the High Court had not kept these important aspects before render,..
ing the decision whether it is a revenue receipt or not. The judgment of
c the High Court requires to be interferred with.

The learned counsel appearing for the respondent (revenue) after
referring to Section 2(24) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, would submit that
if it is not windfall and if there is regularity in payment, that would be
D enough to constitute income. That is the test adopted as seen in the case
of E.D. Sassoon & Co. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income-tax, 26 ITR 27 at
49. Similar is the case in Raghuvanshi Mills Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income
Tax, 22 ITR 484 at 489. Therefore, if these are applied there is no difficulty
in holding that the payments received by the assessee, which do not amount
to compensation, are nothing but income. Where it is a case of compensa-
E tion that would be as laid down in Commissioner of Income-tax v. Kamal
Behari Lal Singha, 82 ITR 460.

--
The direct authority which governs the present case is Raja Ramesh-
wara Rao v. Commissioner of Income-tax, 49 ITR 144 because that was a
F case of maintenance allowance. Here, as well, the assessee applied to the
government in order to maintain herself. It is such an allowance which is
talked of under clause (d) of Section 15(1) of the Act. Therefore, where
she is paid maintainance allowance periodically it cannot be claimed as }-
compensation. It does not matter on what ground or on what basis the
grnnt is made. That is alien to taxation. Therefore, to say that it is paid as
G compas~ionate allowance cannot make the position of assessee any better.

The next authority on which reliance could be placed is S.R. Y.
Sivaram Prasad Bahadur (supra) in which also it was held that one must
look at the substance-of the payment. Therefore, the judgment of the High ,..J_ · :.
H Court is correct.
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. (MOHAN, J.] 713

No doubt, the marginal heading of the Section is c:Ompensation but A
that does not control the operation of the Section or the in~erpretation of
Sectio~ 15. The general principle that marginal heading ca~not control the
interpretation, is deducible from Chandroji Rao v. Commissioner of In-
come-Tax, 77 ITR 743.

We will now proceed to consider the correctness of these submis-
B
sions. Section· 2(24) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 defines in an inclusive
manner what "income" is. The word "income" connotes periodical monetary
return coming in with some regularity or expected regularity from definite
sources. In E.D. Sassoon & Company Ltd. and Ors. (supra) at page 49 this
Court cited the Privy Council ruling in Commissioner of Income-tax v. Shaw C
Wallace & Co., (1932) ILR 59 Cal. 1343 at p. 1352 wherein it was observed·

"Income, their Lordships think, in the Indian Income-tax Act,
connotes a periodical monetary return 'coming in' with some
sort of regularity, or expected regularity from definite sources. D
The source is not necessarily one which is expected to be
continuously productive, but it must be one whose object is the
production of a definite' return, excluding anything in the nature
of a mere windfall."

In Raglzuvanslzi Mills Ltd. (supra) while dealing with a case of the E
-i y amounts received under an insurance policy it was held that it would
' consitute income. It is sufficient if we extract the headnote which is as
under:

"The assessee company had insured its mills with certain in- F
surance companies and also had taken out certain policies of
the type known as "consequential loss policy" which insured
against loss of profit, standing charges and agency commission.
The mills were completely destroyed as a result of fire an~ a
certain amount was paid to the assessee by ·the insurance
companies. The question was whether this amount which was G
treated as paid. on account of loss of profits was assessable to
income-tax:

Held, that the ambunt received by the assessee was income and
so was taxable; H
714 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992) 2 S.C.R.

A Held futher, that the receipt was inseparably connected with
the ownership and conduct of the business and arose from it
and therefore it was not exempt under Section 4(3)(vii).

The view taken in England in B. C. Fir and Cedar Lumber Co.
v. The King [1932) A.C. 441 and Commissioners of Inland
B
Revenue v. William's Executors, [1944) 26 Tax Cas.23, preferred.

The remarks of the Judicial Committee in Commissioner qf
Income Tax. v. Shaw Wallace & Co., [1932] 59 I.A. 206 with
regard to the meaning of the word "incom~" must be read with
c reference to the particular facts of that case."

What is to be carefully observed is at page 489 where it was held as
under:

D "It is true the Judicial Committee attempted a narrower
definition in Commissioner of Income-tax v. Shaw Wallace &
Co., by limiting income to "a periodical monetary return 'com-
ing in' with some sort of regularity, or expected regularity, from
definite sources" but, in our opinion, those remarks must be
read with reference to the particular facts of that case."
E
Therefore, the observation of the Privy Council in Commissioner of
Income Tax v. Shaw Wallace & Co. case (supra) cannot be pressed into
service as of general application as is sought to be done by the learned
counsel for the revenue. Those observations must be read with reference
F to the particular facts of the case. The s·alient facts in this case are:

(1) Under the Huzur order dated April 8, 1947 passed by the
Maharaja of Kolhapur. The appellant-assessee was granted a cash al-
lowance of Rs.3,000 per month from Aprill, 1947.

G (2) After the merger of Kolhapur State the allowance was .discon-
tinued from July 31, 1955.

(3) Section 4 of the Act having an overriding effect over the settle-
ment grant order etc. states that all alienations shall be deemed to have
H been abolished. Clause (ii) of Section 4 says:
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE. v. C. l. T. [MOHAN, J.] 715

"Save as expressly provided by or under this Act all rights legally A
subsisting on the said date in respect of such alienations and
all other incidents of su~h alienations shall be deemed to have
been extinguished."

It cannot be denied and in fact, it isnot denied before us that under · B
Section 2 of the Act the allowance paid to the assessee would fall within
the definition of alienation. In fact, section 2(1)(III) defines "alienation" as
follows:

"Section 2(1)(III) - of cash allowance or allowance in kind
of any person by whatever name called." 'C

(4) The next question would be whether the saving clause would
apply to the payment made in favour of the assessee. This takes us to
Section 15. It is worthwhile to quote the.section in full:
D
"Section 15(1) In the case of an alienation consisting of a cash
allowance or allowance in kind, the alienee shall be paid Com-
pensation in respect of allowances in cash or kind:-

E
(i) seven times the amount of the cash allowance or of the value
of the allowance in kind, as the case may be, if the alienation
was hereditary without being subjected to deduction or cut at
the time of each succession;

(ii) five times the amount of the cash allowance of the value of
F
the allowance in kind, as the ca~e may be, if the alienation was
hereditary but subject to a deduction or out al the time of each
succession ; or

(iii) three times the amount of cash allowance or the value of G
the allowance in kind, as the case may be, if the alienation was
continuable for the life-time of the alienee:

Provided that if under the terms of a· grant any case allowance
or allowance in kind- H
716 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1992] 2 S.C.R.

A (a) is received by a widow for the purpose of maintenance, she
shall be paid an amount equal to such allowance for the x-
remainder of her life;

(b) is received by an alienee for the purpose of education, he
shall be paid an amount equal to such allowance during a like
B period, and .subject to the like conditions, as are contained in
the grant; r
(c) is received by a,n alienee who is-

c (i) a male minor, he shall be paid an amount equal to the
allowance till he attains the age of twenty-one years;

(ii) an unmarried female, she shall be paid an amount equal to
~
the allowance till she marries, or the amount calculated in
accordance with provisions of this section, whichever is greater;
D
(d) is received by an alienee of whom, upon application made
to it, in the manner prescribed, before the first day of August
1958, the State Government is satisfied after such inquiry (if
any) as it thinks fit, that he has no other source of income, or
that if he has any other source of income it is insufficient for
E his livelihood, or that on account of old age, mental or physical
infirmity or other reason he is incapable of earning a livelihood,
or maintaining himself in a reasonable manner, there shall be
paid to such alienee as a compassionate payment an amount
~ -
equal to such allowance during his !ifetime, or for such lesser
F period as the State Government in the circumstances thinks
just. (Emphasis supplied)
•
r

(2) For the purpose of sub-section (1), the amount of cash "'<--
allowance shall be the amount paid or payable to the alienee
for the year immediately preceding the appointed date and the
G value of the allowance in kind shall be the value of the al-
lowance in kind paid or payable to the alienec for the year
immediately preceding the appointed date, such value being
determined in the prescribed manner."
~
H The marginal heading says compensation.
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. [MOHAN, J.] 717

---~
In. our considered view those cases falling under sub-section (1) A
clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) fall under a different category than what is covered
under clause ( d) of the proviso while clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) provide for
statutory payment at different rates of payments for different categories of
persons. In. the case of a person falling under clause (d) it requires an
alienee to make an application.
B
-( If such an application had been made in the prescribed form before
.(
the first day of August, 1958, the State Government, if satisfied after such
~nquiry, as it thinks fit, that the applicant has no other source .of income,
there shall be paid as a compassionate payment, an amount equal to such
~

c
..
allowance during his life time or for lesser period, as the State Government
may think fit .

>-- (6) This payment is made on account of

(a) old age
D
(b) mental or physical infirmity or

(c) other resons that he is engaged in earning his livelihood or
maintaining himself in a reasonable manner. If was under
Section 15 that an application was made by the assessee to
·~
the State Government on 23rd of May, 1958 for compas- E
~ sionate payment.

(7) The decision of the Government was communicated to the asses-
see by a letter of the Collertor dated April 6, 1959 wherein the Government
stated that "Government is pleased to sanction .under clause (d) of the
proviso to Section 15(1) of the Act to the making of a compassionate F
payment of Rs.3,000 per month with effect from August 1, 1956 to the
assessee during her life time as compensation for the abolition of the cash
allowance held by her subject to certain conditions laid down therein".

In the light of these facts, the only question is whether the amounts G
received by the assessee during these financial years could be regarded as
capital receipts in the hands of the assessee.

Strong reliance is placed on Raja Rameshwara Rao (supra). That
case no doubt dealt with interim maintenance allowance. At page 148 the
following observations are found: H
718 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992) 2 S.C.R.

A "We have earlier s;lld that it is not in dispute that the commuta-
tion sum was paid as compensation for the loss of the Jagir and
was, therefore, capital which was not liable to be taxed. We
thus find that the Regulations make a clear distinction between
the commutation sum or compensation and the interim main-
tenance allowances. These allowances were obviously. not in-
tended to be compensation.

The question then arises, if these allowances were not paid
as compensation for the loss of the Jagir and were not of the
nature of capital as such, what was their nature? We think that
c if we have regard to the provisions of the Regulations under
which they were paid, as we must, there is no doubt that they
were of the nature of income. No doubt they were not income
of any of t,he kinds that are commonly found, but are, as Lord
-
Radcliffe said in a case to which we shall later refer, sui generis.
We proceed now to discuss why we think they were income.
D
These allowances, we notice, were treated by the Regula-
tions as something other than the compensation for the loss of
the Jagir. They were, therefore, not treated as capital as rep-
resenting compensation for the Jagir. If they were treated as
E capital for the reason that they were not compensation for the
loss of the Jagir, we find no ground on which we can say they
were capital. It would follow that they must be income and
taxable as such. They were certainly not windfall, for a right to
them was created by the Abolition Regulation, a right which
F under section 21 could be enforced in a civil court. Then we
find that these allowances were payable with a regularity and
were of a recurring nature, both of which are recognised as
characteristic of income : see Commissioner of Income-tax v.
Shaw Wallace and Co., (1932] L.R.59 l.A.206; 1932 2 Comp.
Cas.276. Next, we observe that the Regulation advisedly called
G the payments "maintenance allowances", a nomenclature
peculiarly suited to payments of the nature of income."

Therefore, in this case, the maintenance allowance was qualified by
the statute and it was a nomenclature peculiarly suited to payments of the
H nature of income. The learned counsel for the revenue would state if the
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. [MOHAN, J.) 719

payments in this case do not constitute windfall and the right to payment A
of these cash allowances in the case on hand, cbuld be enforced in civil
court, as laid down in this ruling, there is no other way than to hold this
to be an income, but, as we have pointed out just now, maintenance
allowance is qualified by statute .unlike the present case which is purely a
discretionary payment. It is no use contending as also observed by the High
B
Court that after the order is passed an enforceable right arises. On the
contrary the question would be whether the statute gives an enforceable
right. We think, in such of those cases falling under clause (d) of the
proviso to Section 15(1) of the Act, no statutory right is created. This is
unlike those cases falling under clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of sub-section (1)
c

-
of section 15. These constitute different clauses as has already been pointed
out by us. The fact that the assessee has applied for a grant for maintenance
nor again, the periodicity of payment, would be conclusive as we will
demonstrate a little later.

Now, we come to the observations at page 149:
D
"We think for all these reasons the interim maintenance al-
lowances were taxable income. If a source had to be found for
them, the Regu!ation had to be held the source.

A case very near to the one in hand and a case that throws a E
great deal of light on the problem that faces us is Commis-
sioners of Inland Revenue v. Butterley Co. Ltd., [1955) 36 Tax
Cas.411 we think a detailed reference to it can be very profitab-
ly made. That case was concerned with the English Coal In-
dustry Nationalisation Act, 1946, which nationalised the F
collieries and divested all owners of them and the business
concerning them. Under this Act and the Coal Industry (No.2)
Act, 1949, the assessee company became entitled to compen-
sation for the assets transferred to the Government and to
certain payments called "revenue payments" and "interim in-
come" for the period between what was called the primary G
vesting date and the date on which compensation for the assets
taken away was fully satisfied. The question was with regard to
these payments. The assessee company had contended in the
beginning that the payments were not of income nature at all.
In the Court of Appeal however that contention was abandoned H
'720 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992] 2 S.C.R.

A and it was conceded that the payments were of income nature. · )c_ __,,
The only diSpute was whethe; they were income chargeable to
profits tax as profits of a trade or business carried on by the
assessee company. The decision was that the payments were
not income or profit of any trade or business."
(Emphasis supplied)
B
It is clear from the above extract that Butter/ey's case (supra)
proceeded on concession that the payments were of income nature. This
ruling was eJ<plaine_d by this Court in S.R. Y. Sivaram Prasad Bahadur
(supra) at pages 537-38 which is extracted as under:
c
"In order to understand the ratio of that decision, we must bear
in mind the provisions of the two regulations referred to herein-
before. The first regulation provided for the taking over of the
management of the estates ;and the second regulation
D prescribed the mode of determining the communication sum
in respect of each jagir and for its payment, the character of
the receipt which this court was called upon to consider was
the maintenance allowance paid under section 14 of the first
of the two regulations. Under that regulation, the administrator
E of jagir took over the management of the estates pending the
making provision for determination of the commutation
amount. Provision in that regard was made under second
regulation. Till the payment of the commutation sum, the ad-
ministrator merely managed the estates on behalf of the former
owners of those estates. This is clear from sections 5, 8, 11, 12,
F 13 and 14 of the first regulation. Under Section 5 thereof the
quon_dam jagirdars were required to hand over the possession
of their estates to the jagir administrator. Section 8 required
the former jagirdars to pay to the Government the administra-
tion expenses of their estates. Section 11 provided for distribu-
-G tion of the net income of an estate between the jagirdar and
his hissedars who were entitled to a share in the income of the
estate. Section -12(1) says:

"From the amountpayablt'. toany person under section 11, there
H shall be deducted the amount of any maintenance allowance
I
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v~ C. I. T. {MOifAN, J.) 721

which under sub-section (2) is debitable to the share of that A
\
person."
'
Section 13 required the jagir administrator to maintain separate
accounts in respect of each jagir and afford the concerned
jagirdar and hissedar reasonable facilities for the inspection of
the same. Section 14 reads: B
"The amounts payable to jagirdars and hissedars under the
regulation shall be deemed to be interim maintenance allowan-
ces payable until such time as the terms for the commutation
of jagirs are determined."
c
It is the character of the payments made under section 14 that
came up for consideration before this court in Rameshwara
Rao's casc-{1963) 49 ITR SC 144. Quite clearly the maintenance
allowances paid were revenue receipts. Hence that decision has
no bearing on the question of law under consideration in the D
present case. The observations made by this court in that decision
must be read in the light of the facts of that case..

(Emphasis supplied) '

Thus it is clear that the observations made by this Court in Ramesh- E
wara Rao's case (supra) must be read in the light of the facts of the case.
From the ruling in S.R. Y. Sivaram Prasad Bahadur (supra) it is clear that
what is decisive of the charader is the quality of the payment. The
follov.ting passage at page 535 is of vital significance:

"It is the quality of the payment that is decisive of the character, F
of the payment and not the method of the payment or its
measure, and makes it fall within capital or revenue."

Equally, in P.H. Divecha's case (supra) at page 231-32 the test,
applied was as under:
G
"In determining whether this payment amounts to a.return or
loss of a capital asset or is income, profits or gain liable to
income-tax, one must have regard to the nature and quality of
the payment. If the payment was not received to compensate
for a loss or profits of business, the receipt in the hands of the H
722 SUPREME COURT'REPORTS (1992) 2 S.C.R.

A appellant cannot properly be described as income, profits or
i gains as commonly understood. To constitute income, profits
or gains, there must be a source from which the particular
receipt has arisen, anci a connection must exist between the
quality of the receipt and the source. If the payment is by
another person it must be found out why that payment has been
B
made. It is not the motive of the person who pays that is
relevant. More relevance attaches to the nature of the receipt
in the bands of the person who receives it though in trying to
find out the quality of the receipt one may have to examine the
motive out of which the payment was made. It may also be
c stated as a general rule that the fact that the amount involved
was large or that it was periodic in character have no decisive
bearing upon the matter. A payment may even bt< described as
"pay". "remuneration", etc., but that does not determine its
quality, though the name by which it has been called may be
D relevant in determining its true nature, because this gives an
indication of how the person who paid the money and the
person who received it viewed it in the first instance. The
periodicity of the payment does not make the payment a recur-
ring income . because periodicity may be the result of con-
E venience and not necessarily the result of the establishment of
a source expected to be productive over a certain period. These
general principles have been settled firmly by this court in large
number of cases: see, for example, Commissioner of Income-tax
v. Vazir Sultan & Sons, (1959) 36 JTR 175, Godrej & Co. v.
Commissioner of Income-tax, (19?9) 37 ITR 381, Commissioner
F
of Income-tax v. Jairam Va/ji, (1959) 35 ITR 148 and Senairam
Doongamia// v. Commissioner of Income Tax (1961) 42 JTR
392."

This was the reason why we said neither the nomenclature nor the
G periodicity of the payment would be the determinative factors. Regard
must be had only to the nature and quality of payment. The High Court
took the view that this is not compensation. One thing that is certain is that
the assessee lost her right to these allowances. Thereafter, on an applica-
tion by way of compassion the payment is made. The mere fact, after the
H order is made it becomes an enforceable right, is neither here nor there.
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. (MOHAN, J.] 723

The reliance on Rameshwara Rao's case (supra) does not seem to be A
correct in view of what we have pointed out above.

It has already been seen that the marginal heading of Section 15 is
"compensation". The fact that under clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of Section
15(1) the compensation is paid as of right and in cases falling under clause
(d) of the proviso, it is a discretionary payment, would not stamp the B
-(
payment with a character of revenue. As to how a marginal heading has to
be construed can be gathered from Chandroji Rao's case (supra). It is
stated therein about the marginal heading to a section cannot control the
interpretation of the words of the section particularly where the meaning
of the section is clear and unambiguous. c
For a moment, we are not interpreting the words of the s.ection but
we are only holding that even a payment under clause (d) is nothing but
compensation because as the facts disclose. the amount of Rs.10 lakhs out
of a trust property in the Bank of Kolhapur was misappropriated.
D
There is no compulsion on the part of the Government to make the
payment nor is the Government obliged to make the payment since it is
purely discretionary. A case similar to the one on hand in H.H. Maharani
Shri Vijayf...11verba Saheb of Mon•i (supra), -headnote of which is extracted:
E
"A voluntary payment which is made entrirely without con-
sideration and is not traceable to any source which a practical
man may regard as a real source of his income but depends
entirely on the whim of the donor cannot fall in the category
of income. F

The ruler of a native State abdicated in favour of his son in
January, 1948. From April 1949, onwards his son paid him a
monthly allowance. The allowance was not paid under any
custom or usage. The allowance could not be regarded as
maintenance allowance, as the assessee possessed a large for- G
ture.

Held, that as the payments were commenced long after the
ruler had abdicated, they were not made under a legal or
contractual obligation. As the allowances were not also made H
724 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1992) 2 S.C.R.

A under a custom or usage or as a maintenance allowance, they
were iiot assessable."

The position is exactly the same. The payment made by the govern-
ment is undoubtedly voluntary. However, it has no origin in what might be
called the real source of income. No doubt section 15(1) proviso clause (d)
B
enables the applicant to seek payment but that is far from saying that it is
a source. Therefore, it cannot afford any foundation for such a source.
Further, it is a compassionate payment, for such length of period as the
government may, in its discretion, order.

c Lastly, we may refer to Kamal Behari Lal Singha's ca:;e (supra) which
is pressed into service by the revenue, to support its contention one has to
look at the character of the payment in the hands of the receiver and the
source from which the paynient is made has no bearing on the question.
We will extract the head note of this ruling:
D
"During the accounting period ending April 13, 1950, the as-
sessee, who was a shareholder in a company, received a
dividend of Rs.13,200 from the company. Out of that amount
a sum of Rs.8,829 was paid out of capital gains received by the
E company in the shape of salamis and land acquisition compen-
sation receipts after March 31, 1948. The question was whether
that part of the dividend attributable to salamis and compen-
sation· for land acquisition was taxable in the hands of the
assessee:
F
Held, that the assessee had beneficial interest in that sum in
the hands of the company. Undoubtedly, the amount received
by the company towards salami and compensation of acquisi-

-
tion of its lands was a capital receipt in the hands of the
company and when the sum was distributed amongst its
G shareholders each of the shareholders took a share of the
capital asset to which they were beneficially entitled. The
receipt of Rs. 8,829 was a capital receipt in the hands of the
assessee. The fact that the sum was distributed as "dividend"
did not change the true nature of the receipt; a receipt was
H what it was 'and not what it was called.
SHRIMANT KADAMBANDE . v. C. I. T. [MOHAN, J.] 725

Trustees of the W~ll of H.K Brodie v. Commissioners of Inland A
Revenue, (1933) 17 T.C. 423 K.B., applied.

Held also, that that part of the dividend received by the asses-
see attributable to land acquisition compensation received b>:
the company after March 31, 1948, was not receipt of "dividend" B
within the meaning of section 2(6~) of the Income-tax Act,
1922.

Commissioner of Income-tax v. Na/in Behari Lall Singha, {1969)
74 l.T.R. 849 S.C., followed.
c
It is now well-settled that in order to find out whether a receipt
is a capital receipt or a revenue receipt one has to see what it·
is in the hands of the receiver and not its nature in the hands
of the payer. In order words, the nature of the receipt is·.
determined entirely by its character in the hands of the receiver ,
and the source from which the payment is made has no bearing D
on the question. Where an amount is paid which, so far as the
payer is concerned, is paid wholly or partly out of capital, and

...
he receives it as income on his part, the entire receipt is taxable
in the hands of the receiver."
E
This is a case of compensation paid under the Land Acquisition Act.
It was held that a compensation as such would be capital receipt in the
hands of the receiver and the fact that it was distributed as dividends would

- not change the true nature. of the receipt.

As a result of the above discussion, we hold that the amounts
received by the assessee during the financial years in question have to be
F

regarded as capital · receipts and, therefore, are not income within the
·T · meaning of Section 2(24) of the Incom~ Tax Act. Accordingly, we set aside
the judgment of the High Court and allow the appeals with no order as to
costs.

N.PN. Appeals allowed.