COMMISSIONER OF INCOME-TAX, KERALAAND COIMBATORE vs PUTHIYA PONMANICHINTAKAM. WAKFMANAGER P. P. AYESHA BI BI

The Supreme Court determined that the wakf in question should be assessed to tax under Section 41(1) of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922, as the individual shares of the beneficiaries were indeterminate. The Court held that the mutawalli, acting on behalf of the beneficiaries, is liable to pay income-tax at the maximum rate due to the nature of the wakf deed. It clarified that the property does not vest in the Almighty in a legal sense, and thus the mutawalli does receive income on behalf of the beneficiaries, not the Almighty, under the provisions of the Act.