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4. The learned counsel for the Revenue contended before us that, for all intent and purposes, a new trust was created under the deed dt. 31st Dec., 1970. He submitted that the increase in beneficiaries in some of the deeds, as also making the shares of the beneficiaries definite in all the deeds, amounted to creation of new trusts. He submitted that the original trust was revocable while and under the new trust, the property was ultimately to be vested in the beneficiaries after a period of fifteen years, and the trust was now made irrevocable. Such drastic changes in the settlement brought about a totally new set up.

It will be seen from this clause that the trust was discretionary trust and the beneficiaries shares were not specified. The deed specifies the powers and duties of the trustees in detail and thereafter reserves the power of revocation, in Clause (15), which is reproduced hereunder :

"15. These presents shall remain irrevocable for a period of six years and one day from the day hereof, After the expiration of the said period it shall be lawful for the Settlor at any time or times by any deed or deeds for the Settlor at any time or times by any deed or deeds revocable or irrevocable inter vivos or by his last will or condicil thereto to alter, vary or absolutely to revoke all or any of the uses trusts powers, provisions and limitations herein declared and contained of and concerning the trust fund as provided and appointed herein and if he so desires in lieu of the uses, trusts and limitations so revoked to limit, declare and appoint by the same or any other deed or deeds or will or codicil, such new or other uses trusts powers, provisions and limitations of and concerning the trust fund or the income thereof of the management thereof as the settlor shall think proper anything hereinbefore contained to the contrary notwithstanding and upon such revocation the said trust fund or any part thereof or the income thereof or any part thereof in respect of which such power or revocation shall be exercised shall belong absolutely to the settlor subject to any such new limitations declarations or appointment."

10. It was argued that the trust became revocable after six years and one day and, therefore, the gift stood revoked and fresh gift was made to the beneficiaries by directing the property to absolutely vest in them after fifteen years and making the trust irrevocable. It was also pointed out that a revocable gift was void under Section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act.

10.1 The concept of a gift being void when the donor and donee have agreed that it can be revoked as incorporated in Section 126 of the Transfer of Property Act is altogether different from the concept of revocation of trust as per the power retained by the settlor in the deed of settlement, as envisaged by Section 77(d) of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, which, inter alia, provides that a trust is extinguished when the trust, being revocable, is expressly revoked. There was no express revocation of the trust created under the trust deed dt. 11th April, 1961, nor any resumption of the title to the property which was transferred to the trustees for perfecting the trust under the said deed of 11th April, 1961.

10.2 In a living trust, the properties are transferred by the settlor to the trustee and the trust comes into existence after it is so funded. The trustee controls and manages the trust property and is responsible for the safe-keeping of the trust property, Since the trust is created and operative while the settlor is still alive, it is also called living trust which is essentially the same as other trusts. The settlor who creates the trust by the deed of trust incorporates in it the details for the management and disposition of the property contributed to the trust, When power to alter such details is retained by the settlor, he can revise those instructions. But when the trust is perfected by property being already transferred from the settlor to the trustee, that position would continue even in a revocable trust until reversed or changed by the settlor. Thus, by mere change in the manner of disposition of the trust property, without affecting the creation of the trust and the transfer of trust property which was already effected in the name of the trustees, the trust itself cannot be said to be revoked or the property that was transferred to the trustees cannot to said to have been reverted to the settlor by virtue of such changes in the subordinate clauses having bearing on the disposition of the trust property which continued to vest in the trustees. There was, therefore, no revocation of the trust that was created by the trust deed dt. 11th April, 1961, and since the entire property continued to vest in the same trustees even after the changes were effected in Clauses 2(b) and (3) of the original trust deed by substituting the new clauses, which has a bearing only on the question as to how the property that already vested in the trustees should be dealt with for the benefit of the cestui que trust, there was no fresh gift made by the deed of 31st Dec., 1970, and the gift already made by transferring trust property to the trustees when the trust was created in 11th April, 1961, and when the gift-tax was paid on the entire value of that property, was never revoked since the trust created and perfected under that deed was not at all disturbed by the change effected on 31st Dec., 1970.