As per case facts, a joint Hindu family, post-Hindu Succession Act, saw Sham Rao's interest devolve upon his son, wife, and mother via notional partition. Despite fixed shares, they continued ... living jointly. When the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on Holdings) Act, 1961, came, the family claimed separate units, but the Sub-Divisional Officer and Tribunal ruled them a single unit. The High Court, however, allowed separate units, arguing that devolution separated the family. The State appealed. The question arose whether a female heir inheriting a fixed share in joint family property, due to a male member's death and notional partition under the Hindu Succession Act, automatically ceases to be a joint family member, entitling her to a separate unit under the Land Ceiling Act. Finally, the Supreme Court held that a fixed share for a female heir does not automatically terminate her joint family membership without her explicit volition. A legal fiction has limits. Since no family member sought separation, the group remained a single unit for ceiling purposes. The High Court's judgment was overturned, and the Tribunal's order was reinstated.