S.S.CHADHA, J. - (1.) Civil Writ 1321178 and Civil Writ 24179 raise common questions relating to the validity of tlie levy of the tax by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi payable by the consumers of electricity on energy generated by themselves within the area of the Corporation.
(2.) An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi was enacted by Parliament in Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The relevant provisions for the purposes of disposal of these cases are briefly these. Section 42 of the Act lays down the obligatory functions of the Municipal Corpora'ion of Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation). Section 43 lays down the discretionary functions of the Corpora'ion. The provisions relating to revenue and expenditure are contained in Sections 99 to 112 in Chapter VII. Section 99 provides for the constitution of the Municipal Fund. All moneys raised by tax, rate or cess levied, for the purposes of the Act, form one fund entitled the Municipal Fund of Delhi. The Municipal Fund is held by the Corporation in trust for the purposes of the Act. Section 102 lays down the prohibition to the effect that no payment of any sum out of the Municipal Fund shall be made unless the expenditure of the same is covered by a current budget-grant and a sufficient balance of such budget-grant is still available notwithstanding any reduction or transfer thereof which may have been made under the provisions of the Act. This is subject to a proviso, which is not relevant here. That proviso, however, lays down certain exceptional circumstances when payments can be made. Section 105 lays down the application of the Municipal Fund by saying that the moneys from time to time credited to the Municipal Fund shall be applied in payment of all sums, charges and costs necessary for carrying out the provisions of the rules, regulations and bye-laws made thereunder, or of which paymeat is .duly directed, sanctioned or required by or under any of the provisions of the Act. Such moneys shall likewise be applied :in payment of all sums payable out of the Municipal Fund under any other enactment for the time being in force. Under Section 109 the Corporation is obliged on or before the 31st day of March of every year to adopt for .the ensuing year the budget estimates, namely : (a) budget estimate (general) which shall be an estimate of the income and expenditure of the Corporation to be received and incurred on account of the Muncipal Corporation of Delhi, (b) budget estimate (electric supply) which shall be an estimate of the income and expenditure of the Corporation to be received and incurred on account of the Delhi 'Electric Supply Undertaking, (c) budget estimate (water supply and sewage disposal) which shall be an estimate of the income and expenditure of the Corporation to be received and incurred on account of the Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Undertaking. On or before the 15th day of February of each year the Corporation is obliged to determine the rates at which various municipal faxes, rates and cesses are to be levied in the next following year and 'save as otherwise provided in the Act the -rates so fixed cannot be subsequently altered for the year for which they have been fixed. Section 110 empowers the Corporation to alter the budget estimates relating to budget grants from time to time during the year. Under Section 111 power is conferred on the Corporation to re-adjust income and expenditure during the .year. For the purpose of adjusting the year's income to the expenditure, the Corporation is empowered either to diminish the sanctioned expenditure of the year so far as it may be possible so t'o do yvi'h regard to all the requirements of the-Act,orhave recourse to supplementary taxation under Section 151 or to increase of the rates .of cesses, fees, fares and other charges leviable under the Act, or to adopf all or any of those methods.
(3.) Chapter VIII provides for the taxation. The taxes to be imposed by the Corporation under the Act are enumerated in Section 113. Sub-section I of Section 113 requires the Corporation to levy the six named taxes. By sub-section 2 the Corporation is authorised in addition to the compulsory taxes specified in Sub Section (1) to levy for the purposes of the Act any of the seven named taxes which, inter alia includes "a tax on the consumption, sale or supply of electricity". Sections 114 to 149 of the Act set out elaborate provisions relating to the rates of compulsory taxes to be levied, the class or classes of persons or the description or descriptions of articles and properties to be taxed, the system of assessment to be adopted and the exemptions, if any, to be granted, the standards and guide lines for determining the rates of taxes, the specification of the maximum rates of taxes, etc.;