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7. The decision of the Tribunal has been challenged by means of these references. Mr. Wazir Singh, learned standing counsel for the Department, submits that the object of the trust is to establish and run a commercial institution such as the Hamdard Dawakhana and there is power under clause 49 to "establish, run or close down any institution". This is not a charitable purpose at all.

8. It is further submitted that the objects of the trust are not purely charitable and are not restricted to the relief of the poor, education and medical relief. They also include the construction of laboratories, graveyards, research institutions, etc. Hence, the object is one of general public utility. If an object of general public utility is carried on for profit, then the trust is not entitled to any exemption.

18. In our view. the entire point is now covered by the Supreme Court's judgment in Addl. CIT v. Surat Art Silk Cloth Manufacturers Association [1980] 121 ITR 1. The court pointed out in that case that when the object of a trust was the carrying on of an object of general public utility, it is that object of general public utility which must not involve the carrying on of an activity for profit. It was pointed out that it was immaterial how the money for achieving or implementing such purpose was found. Whether that money was obtained by the running of an activity for profit or not, did not make the charity not charitable. Thus, in the present case, no doubt, the trust earns the money from the Hamdard Dawakhana. If that money is used for charitable purpose and not for the carrying on of any business at a profit, then the object of the trust is charitable, not with standing the source of the income.

23. The main point is regarding the nature of the reserved right to make alterations in the wakf deed. We do not think that the wakf can at all be withdrawn in the light of the language used. The provision is for making alterations in the conditions relating to the duties of the mutawallis and the administration of the wakf. The khandani income has to be treated quite separately from the qaumi income. The khandani income is personal to the mutawallis, i.e., it is not to be used for charity, it is to be used for the family of the executants. It has to be distributed amongst the various members of the family. The reserved right regarding khandani income has no effect at all on the charitable part of the trust deed. As far as the qaumi income is concerned, no doubt, this visualises changes in distribution of the income among the various objects of charity. In any event, when you have a charitable trust with several specified objects, there has to be some division between the various items of charity. The document is an extremely complex one regarding how the income is to be used and who are the trustees or mutawallis and how the income is to be divided. Clause 44 deals with the qaumi income. It is stated there as follows :

26. It was submitted before us that clause 46 shows that it is possible to use the trust even for running profitable businesses such as commercial institutions, schools, laboratories, inns and also by publication of books. Thus, a non-charitable purpose was visualised by this trust.

27. No doubt, the words actually used do suggest that conceivably the trust income could be used for non-charitable purposes. At the same time, we think that the object of the trust was not to use the income for no charitable purposes. When one visualises that education and medical relief are themselves charitable purposes within the meaning of section 2(15), we do not see why the charitable income cannot be used for running such educational and commercial institutions. What is visualised is the running of institutions for the employment of the poor. Similarly, the inns referred to in clause 46 are really not hotels run for commercial purposes, but sera is for the housing of the poor. The context in which the objects have been specified shows that the income has to be used for charitable purposes. The enumeration of charitable purposes, if not read in the context in which they are used, can give rise to an inference that the money is to be used for non-charitable purposes. The proper way to construe the document is to visualise the fact that the executants wanted to make a charitable trust and they also specified in what way the charitable income was to be used. You can use income to set up a factory at a profit and you can also use the income to set up a poor house for employment of poor people. The effect may be the same, i.e., the setting up of a commercial establishment, but the object is different. One is to run an institution for profit and the other is to provide employment to the poor by giving them work and income. Similarly, in making a graveyard or a mosque or an inn, the money is used for charitable purposes or it may be used for profit by selling the space, e.g., by making income from the inn. If you read it in the context in which the utilisation of the charitable money is being indicated, then you can infer that the real purpose is not to run a charitable institution, but one which results in a charity. The ambiguity of reading one or the other meaning has been removed by the clarification dated March 24, 1964, made by the executants, to the effect that the money will only be used for charitable purposes and clauses 45 to 49 will be read a denoting only a charitable utilisation of the money of the trust.