Disposition - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition disposition

Definition :

Disposition, giving away or giving up by a person of something which was his own, Commissioner of Gift Tax v. N.S. Getty Chettiar (1971) 2 SCC 741: AIR 1971 SC 2410: (1972) 1 SCR 736 & Controller of Estates Duty v. Kancharla Kesava Rao, (1973) 2 SCC 384: AIR 1973 SC 2484: (1973) 3 SCR 897.

Disposition in the estate duty law of India enjoys and extended meaning. The framers of the Estate Duty Act,1953 desired by a deeming provision regarding 'disposition' to cover extinguishments of debts and all other rights at the expense of and made by the deceased in favour of the beneficiary. The substantive definition of 'property' in s. 2(15) is not exhaustive but only inclusive and the supplementary operation of Explanation 2 takes in which is not conventionally regarded as 'disposition'. Indeed, 'disposition', even accord-ing to law dictionaries, embraces 'the parting with, alienation of, or giving up property.... a destruction of property' (Black's Legal Dictionary), Controller of Estate Duty v. Shri Kantilal Trikamlal, (1976) 4 SCC 643: AIR 1976 SC 1935: (1977) 1 SCR 9.

The term 'disposition' has been defined in Stroud's Judicial Dictionary as a devise 'intended to comprehend a mode by which property can pass, whether by act of parties or by an act of the law' and 'includes transfer and charge of property', Madras Refineries Ltd. v. Chief Controlling Revenue Authority, Board of Revenue, (1977) 2 SCC 308: AIR 1977 SC 500: (1977) 2 SCR 565. [Stamp Act, 1889, s. 4(1)]

--the word 'disposition' refers to a bilateral or a multilateral act. It does not refer to a unilateral act, Goli Eswariah v. C.G.T., (1970) 2 SCC 390: AIR 1970 SC 1722 (1726). [Gift-tax Act, 1958, s. 2(xxiv)]

A contract for the sale of land a disposition, it being a specifically identified disposition, Bayoumi v. Women's is Abstinenee Union Ltd. (Ch D), (2003) Ch LR 283.

Carried out by the parties in good faith at a time when they were unaware that a petition had been presented would normally be validated unless there are grounds for thinking that the transaction was an attempt to prefer the disponee, Regina v. Hayter, (2003) 1 WLR 2791