PRAKASH KRISHNA,SUBHASH CHANDRA NIGAM,J - (1.) THE petitioner purchased a plot, area 466.90 sq. mtrs., situate at Udaipur Khas, Prem Nagar, Bareilly and submitted a building plan, being map no. 735, before Bareilly Development Authority for its sanction. By the said plan, the petitioner sought the sanction of residential-cum-nursing home over the aforestated property. The plan was sanctioned on 19-6-1985 by the Bareilly Development Authority and the constructions were raised accordingly. The Nagar Nigam, Bareilly allocated house no. 468, Kanoongoyan to the said accommodation and assessed the house tax in accordance with Section 209(1) of U.P. Municipal Corporation Act, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). It imposed house tax, water tax, sewerage tax on the said property w.e.f. 1-4-1987 determining its annual value at Rs. 3,600/-. The said assessment was revised from time to time in accordance with the provisions of the Act. All of a sudden, the petitioner was served with the impugned notice and bill dated 12-9-2007 by the Nagar Nigam, Bareilly asking her to deposit a sum of Rs. 2,86,000/-. The said order was passed in pursuance of the Government Order No. 108/1/8/2000 CX-3-07 dated 25-7-2007. Challenging the legality and validity of the order 12-9-2007 as also of the State Government dated 25-7-2007, the present writ petition has been filed.
(2.) IT has been pleaded that the petitioner has already deposited the house tax and other taxes with the respondent Nagar Nigam, Bareilly and she is not in arrears of any tax. The demand raised through letter dated 12-9-2007 is wholly arbitrary and uncalled for. The State Government could not raise any demand against the petitioner's property. A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondent no.1. No counter, either on behalf of respondent no. 2 or respondent no. 3 has been filed.
(3.) IN the counter affidavit, it has been stated that the husband of the petitioner Dr. S.K. Agrawal is running a Nursing-Home over the property in question. Section 205 of the Act gives power to the State Government to require the Corporation to increase or modify or vary the rate of tax already imposed. It has been stated therein that the petitioner by colluding with the officials of Nagar Nigam has got calculated the annual value of the building as a residential building having only three rooms while as a matter of fact, the building is being used as a nursing home in which on the ground floor, there is a general ward of 11-12 bed rooms, 6 A.C. rooms, one medical store, one compounder room, one consultation room of the doctors and a hall. It has been further stated that the then Tax Inspector Khaliq Ahmad has given his report showing that the building in question consists of three rooms and the tax was levied accordingly. But, as a matter of fact, the building in question is a huge building and the tax has been wrongly under assessed due to collusion of the petitioner with the employees of the respondent no. 1 namely Khaliq Ahmad, Mirza Zilani Beg and Shami Ulla Khan.;