Q.In a Joint Hindu Family Business, the liability of an ordinary coparcener (who does not manage the business) is:
(A) Unlimited, exactly like the Karta
(B) Limited to that coparcener's own share in the joint family property
(C) Zero — coparceners bear no liability at all
(D) Limited to the coparcener's personal salary drawn from the business

A Joint Hindu Family (JHF) business is a form found only in India and one of its oldest. It is owned and carried on by the members of a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), governed by Hindu Law, with membership acquired simply by birth into the family — up to three successive generations. The eldest member, the karta, controls and manages the business, while all members (co-parceners) share equal ownership of the ancestral property.

Key features:

• Formation needs at least two members and inherited ancestral property; no agreement is required since membership comes by birth.
• Liability is limited for all members to their share, except the karta, whose liability is unlimited.
• Control rests with the karta, whose decisions bind the others.
• Continuity is stable — on the karta's death the next eldest member takes over. Even minors are members by birth. …