A.K. Sikri, J. - (1.) Leave granted. Introductory Remarks:
(2.) These appeals are filed by New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) against the judgment dated August 10, 2017 rendered by High Court of Delhi in a batch of writ petitions which were filed by the persons who have their houses/properties in NDMC area. Some of the petitions were by the associations of residents as well (hereinafter referred to as the "assessees/respondents"). In those writ petitions filed by the assessees they had challenged the constitutional validity of NDMC (Determination of Annual Rent) Bye-laws, 2009 (hereinafter referred to as the 'impugned Bye-laws'). These Bye-laws changed the earlier regime of determining the rateable value for the purposes of levying property tax. These Bye-laws seek to alter the earlier system of determining the rateable value on the basis of he annual rent at which the land or buildings may reasonably be expected to be let from year to year. On that basis annual rent used to be fixed and a particular percentage was prescribed for the purposes of payment of property tax. The impugned Bye-laws introduced the system of Unit Area Method (UAM). As per this method Unique Area Value (UAV) per sq. ft/meter of a property is fixed with reference to the characteristics of the property such as location, occupancy, age, structure of the said property. This UAV is then multiplied by the area of the vacant land or covered space to arrive at its annual value. When the annual value is determined on the basis of such a formula, property tax thereupon is to be paid by the assessees.
(3.) It may be mentioned at this stage itself that the impugned Byelaws have been framed by the Government of India in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 391 of the New Delhi Municipal Act, 1944 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). It is also to be noted that Section 63 of the Act deals with determination of annual rent. Various grounds were raised challenging the validity of these Bye-laws and one of the grounds was that the UAM of fixing the annual value as prescribed in the Bye-laws was foreign to the provisions of Section 63 of the Act, meaning thereby that the language of Section 63 did not permit determination of annual value on such a basis as it prescribed the method of fixing annual rent on the basis of the rent which the land or building may reasonably be expected to let from year to year. It was, thus, argued by the assessees in the writ petitions that the impugned Bye-laws were ultra vires the provisions of Section 63 of the Act. The High Court chose to confine itself to this particular submission and eschewed the discussion on other grounds on which these bye-laws were also challenged. In the impugned judgment, the High Court accepts the submission of the assessees holding that the impugned Bye-laws are ultra vires the NDMC Act as they are far beyond the scope and ambit of the powers vested in NDMC under Section 388(1)(A)(9) of the Act. Section 388 gives rule making power to the NDMC.;