Municipal Council, Khurai And Another VS. Kamal Kumar & Another

Summary

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An assessment list of house and conservancy taxes was prepared on the basis that a slab system of taxation would apply, and was published by the appellant under s. 136 of the M.P. Municipalities Act, 1961. The assessees filed objections to it under s. 138(2). The appellant later re- voked the slab system and reverted to the old rate of assessment. A sub-committee appointed by the appellant, considered the objections filed to the list and completed its revision. The final list was published after authentication. when some complaints of partiality in its preparation were made, the list was suspended. The appellant then decided to amend the list under s. 141 and, after issuing notices to some assessees and after hearing their objections a new list was authenticated and published.

The respondents having preferred an appeal against the new assessment list under the Act, also challenged it in writ petition to the High Court. The High Court allowed the petition.

On appeal to the Supreme Court.

HELD : The assessment list authenticated by the Chief Municipal Officer was not prepared according to law and therefore, the provisions of s.141 were not available to the appellant. [660 E]

(i) Article 265 of the Constitution, implies that the procedure for imposing the liability to pay a tax has to be strictly complied with. Since in the instant case, the objections which the assessees had filed were in respect of the list compiled on the basis that the slab system would apply and not in pursuance of what the liability would be upon the reversion to the old rate of tax, it could not be said that the opportunity as contemplated by the Act was given to the assessees for lodging their objections as required by s. 137 of the Act. [659 E-G]

(ii) Assuming that under s. 78, the appellant council could delegate the power to hear objections against a proposed list under s. 138(2) to its vice-president or certain other officers, this power could not be delegated to a sub- committee. [660 B-C]

(iii) Though an alternate remedy is open to an aggrieved party the High Court has jurisdiction under Art. 226 to give relief to such a party in appropriate cases. [657 FF]

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Extract

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Municipal Council, Khurai And Another VS. Kamal Kumar & Another

PETITIONER: MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, KHURAI AND ANOTHER Vs.

RESPONDENT: KAMAL KUMAR & ANOTHER

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 18/12/1964

BENCH: MUDHOLKAR, J.R.

BENCH: MUDHOLKAR, J.R.

SARKAR, A.K.

HIDAYATULLAH, M.

CITATION: 1965 AIR 1321 1965 SCR (2) 653

CITATOR INFO : R 1973 SC1041 (13)

RF 1992 SC2279 (34)

ACT: Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1961, ss. 78, 137 and 141 Delegation of powers to sub-committee-Validity-Revision of assessment list-Opportunity to assessee-Necessity for.

JUDGMENT: CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 974 of 1964.

Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated September 10, 1964, of the High Court in Madhya Pradesh in Misc. Petition No. 113 of 1964. up.165-8 654

M. C. Setalvad, S. L. Jain and M. S. Gupta, for the appellants.

A. V. Viswanatha Sastri, B. R. L. Iyengar, S. K. Mehta and K. L. Mehta, for re...

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