Phoolchand vs Municipal Council Satna

P.V. Dixit, C.J.—By this application the Petitioner prays for the issue of a writ of certiorari for quashing the notices of demand (Anexures 6 and 8 to the petition) issued to it by the Municipal Council, Satna, asking it to pay certain amounts on account of house tax. The Petitioner''s contention is that the notices founded on the revised rates of assessment are illegal inasmuch as the revision of assessment was not done by the Municipal Council, Satna, in conformity with Sections 122 to 125 of the Rewa State Municipalities Act, 1946 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), and that no notification even was issued u/s 126 of the Act notifying the date on which the revised assessment would become effective.

The Petitioner has stated that by an ordinary resolution passed at a meeting held on 31 July 1951 the Municipal Board, Satna, formulated certain proposals for revising the then existing rates of house tax, that the resolution did not comply with the requirements of Section 122, that the proposals for revision of the tax were never published as contemplated by Section 122(3) of the Act; that in the resolution passed there was no expression of any desire to impose the tax at an enhanced rate and no definition of the persons or class of persons liable to pay the tax or even of the amount or rate to be levied; that the Government of Vindhya Pradesh issued a notification on 15th September 1952 according its sanction to the proposal as required by Section 124 of the Act; that the sanction given by the Government was totally invalid and of no avail as the conditions precedent for the grant of sanction viz. the publication of the Municipal Board''s proposals inviting objections to the proposals were never complied with; that after the Government of Vindhya Pradesh had given its sanction the Municipal Board passed another resolution on 6th October 1952 taking note of the sanction accorded by the Government and directing the framing of the bye-laws for assessment at the revised rates; and that the revised house tax was made effective from 1st October 1956 without complying with Section 125(2) and Section 126 of the Act. It has been stated that on account of all these Infirmities the revised house-tax is totally illegal.

The Municipal Council, Satna, has not filed any return, and none appeared before us on behalf of the Council. No return has been filed on behalf of the State of Madhya Pradesh. The statements made by the Petitioner as to the circumstances and the manner in which the house rate was revised must therefore be accepted. If those statements are accepted, as they must be, then it Is clear that the revision of the house-tax was not in conformity with Sections 122 to 126. The resolution with regard to revision did not fulfil the requirements of Section 122(1). The resolution was not published as required by Section 122(3), and no objections were invited to the proposal of the Municipal Council about the revision of tax as enjoined by Section 123. It is clear from Section 124 that the Government''s power to sanction under that provision can be exercised only when the proposals are first published for inviting objections as contemplated by Section 123. This was not done in the present case. It is also plain that the Municipal Council did not frame any rules as envisaged by S. 125 and pass a resolution under Sub-section (2) of S. 125. Section 126 of the Act laid down that a copy of the resolution passed u/s 125(2) shall be submitted to the Government and that it shall notify in the Gazette the imposition of the tax from the appointed date, and the imposition of a tax shall in all cases be subject to the condition of this notification. This also was not done, and no notification of any kind was issued u/s 126. It must therefore be held that the revised house tax imposed by the Satna Municipal Council consequent to the resolution initiated on 31st July 1951 is in utter violation of Sections 122 to 126 of the Act and illegal.

The Petitioner has also averred that after the revised house tax was brought Into force from 1st October 1956 some rate-payers filed appeals before the Collector, which were allowed and the revision of tax was held to be Illegal. If that be so, it is difficult to understand how the Municipal Council persisted in thinking that the revision was valid in regard to the present Petitioner and issued to him the impugned notices of demand.

5 For these reasons, this petition is allowed. The revision of house tax effected by the Municipal Council, Satna, on the resolution initiated on 31st July 1951 is quashed, and the notices of demand to the Petitioner on the basis of the revised rates of assessment are also quashed, The Petitioner shall have costs of this application. Counsel''s fee is Rs. 200. The security deposit shall be refunded to the Petitioner.