R.MAHADEVAN,J. - (1.) By consent, all the writ petitions are taken up for final disposal. Since the issue involved in all these writ petitions, is similar, they are disposed of by this common order.
(2.) For the sake of convenience, the facts leading to the filing of W.P(MD)No.12240 of 2016, alone are narrated hereunder: 2. 1. The petitioner is the Correspondent of St. John's Matric Higher Secondary School, Kochadai, Madurai. According to the petitioner, it is a recognised and Unaided Minority Educational Institution run and administered by "the Congregation of Claretian Missionaries" - a Society registered under Society Registration Act in Registration No. 33/1986 at Maduari. Later, it was transferred to central Chennai SI. No.141/1996. 2. 2. It is claimed by the petitioner that the members of the said Society are all priests and they have dedicated their lives for charitable purpose by providing education to the socially and economically backward children. The Congregation is the Educational Agency of the School. The petitioner school was initially established as a Primary School in the year 2002 and thereafter, in 2005, it was upgraded as a Middle School and as Higher Secondary School in the year 2009. It is now offering education from standards LKG to XII. There are 3,547 students studying in the petitioner school. The medium of instruction is English. There are 131 teaching and 34 non-teaching staffs are working in the School. 2. 3. The Congregation, in order to promote education, has established numerous educational institutions viz., two Matriculation Schools, one Higher Secondary School, two Nursing Colleges and other charitable institutions. The members of the said society are all Christians. The Congregation and the Educational Institutions have been recognised as Minority Institutions in terms of Article 30 of the Constitution of India. 2. 4. According to the petitioner, they are helping the students hailing from rural background by providing quality education within their affordable reach. A meagre sum is collected from them only to meet out the salary for the staff as fixed by the Fee Determination Committee. The education is being provided as a charity without any intention to earn profits. Neither any capitation fee nor any donation or other fees is collected by the petitioner school. 2. 5. The petitioner school is situated in a campus of 2 acres of land within the limits of Madurai Corporation. It has sufficient infrastructural and instructional facilities. The land and the buildings therein stand in the name of the Congregation, viz., the Educational Agency of the school. The land and school buildings are exclusively used for the purposes of the school and for any other commercial or related purposes. Neither any rent nor any other profit is derived either from the said lands or buildings. 2. 6. Since the petitioner school is located within the limits of Madurai City Municipal Corporation, it is covered under Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 [in short 'the Act']. Sections 120 to 125 of the Act deal with the powers and procedures of levying and method of assessing property tax and building tax on various kinds of lands and buildings including the exceptions thereunder. However, the Madurai Corporation did levy any tax on the lands and the buildings of the petitioner school ever since 2002, in view of the exemption granted to the school buildings and Charitable Institutions under Section 122 of the Act. 2. 7. While so, the second respondent - Assistant Commissioner of Madurai issued a provisional Demand Notice demanding payment of Rs. 43,75,257.60/- (Rupees Forty Three Lakhs Seventy Five Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Seven and Paise Sixty only) towards property tax from the petitioner school with effect from 01.04.2008, however, without any prior notice or without providing any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Hence, the petitioner approached the second respondent stating that the petitioner school, being an Educational and Charitable Institution, is exempted from such taxes as per Section 122 of the Act. Based on the assurance given by the second respondent that the impugned Demand Notice would be recalled, the petitioner school did submit any reply to the said notice. 2. 8. Meanwhile, the third respondent issued the impugned final Demand cum Attachment Notice dated Nil (signed on 11.03.2016) demanding the petitioner school to pay a sum of Rs. 75,25,440/- (Rupees Seventy Five Lakhs Twenty Five Thousand Four Hundred and Forty only) towards property tax from the assessment year 2008 to 2016. It is also alleged by the petitioner that the said notice was issued without specification of any date and without the signature of the second respondent. Moreover, no reason has been given for such a demand, however, the third respondent threatened that drainage and water connections would be disconnected at any point of time. 2. 9. While so, the first respondent issued another impugned Attachment Warrant cum Report dated 08.04.2016 demanding a payment of Rs. 75,73,068/- (Rupees Seventy Five Lakhs Seventy Three Thousand and Sixty Eight only) towards property tax from the year 2008 - 2009 to 2015 - 2016 and in the said notice, it is stated that the amount should be paid within three days, failing which, the movable properties from the petitioner's school would be seized and further, on failure to pay the amount within a period of seven days from such seizure, the seized items will be sold through auction. 2. 10. The petitioner submitted a letter to the first respondent on 19.04.2016 seeking two weeks time to submit the reply. The petitioner also submitted another letter, dated 04.05.2016, seeking two months time to submit a reply. The impugned demand notice and attachment notices issued by the respondents 1 and 3 are wholly illegal, arbitrary, void and unconstitutional as they came to be issued in violation of principles of natural justice. Challenging the same, W.P(MD)No.12240 of 2016 has been filed.
(3.) The rest of the writ petitions have also been filed by the respective petitioners on similar lines.;