SHOLAPUR MUNICIPAL CORPORATION Vs. DHANANJAY DHONDUSA KOLHAPURE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Civil Revision Application filed by the Sholapur City Municipal Corporation against the opponent who is the owner of House No. 479, East Mangalwar Peth, Sholapur. Till some time in 1964 there was in the City of Sholapur the Sholapur Municipality, hereinafter referred to as 'the Sholapur Municipality', which was a Municipality under the Bombay Municipal Boroughs Act, 1925, hereinafter referred to as 'the old Act'. On the 1st of January 1964 the Sholapur Municipality issued a notice to the opponent under the provisions of Section 81 of the old Act intimating that the rateable value of the said house Was sought to he increased from Rs. 380 to Rs. 600 per year. Under the liberty available to the opponent under Section 81 of the old Act, the opponent filed objections against the proposal to enhance the rateable value. The opponent's objections were heard on the 17th of March 1964 by the Appellate Committee which thereafter rejected the objections. On the 30th of April 1964 the Chief Officer informed the opponent that the rateable value of the opponent's said house would be Rs. 600 for the year 1964 -65. It appears that on tie same day, i.e., 30th April 1964, the Sholapur Municipality prepared a bill on the basis of the said enhanced rateable value for a sum of Rs. 167 for the property taxes for the whole year 1964 -65 in respect of the said house. Certain directions in the Marathi language are printed at the back of that bill Only a part of Direction No. 1 is relevant and the same, according to an agreed translation thereof, reads:.So on receipt of this bill, half of the amount mentioned in the bill towards the first instalment be paid within 15 days from the receipt of this bill and the rest of the amount towards second instalment before 15 October in the office of the Municipality during the working days of the office excluding holidays. If there is no compliance with the above, demand notice will be issued and the amount will have to be paid along with notice fee.

(2.) AS from 1st May 1964 the Sholapur Municipal Corporation, being the Revision Petitioner, came into existence under the provisions of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, hereinafter referred to as ''the new Act', and it substituted the Sholapur Municipality as from that date. The said bill dated 30th April 1964 was received by the opponent on 23rd June 1964. On 29th June 1964 the opponent paid to the Sholapur Municipal Corporation under protest a sum of Rs. 83.50, being a half of the said amount of the annual tax amounting to Rs. 167.

(3.) THE opponent thereupon on 9th April 1965 filed an appeal, being Civil Appeal No. 235 of 1965, before the District Court, Sholapur, which in that case was the Court of the Extra -Assistant Judge as he was invested with the powers of the District Judge. In that appeal the opponent again challenged the quantum of the rateable value which had been fixed at Rs. 600. The learned Extra -Assistant Judge came to the conclusion that in view of the provisions of Rule 30 of the Rules appearing in the Schedule to the new Act the only amount which the opponent was liable to pay and the revision petitioner could then 'claim' Was the amount of only the instalment payable for the first half year, viz., Rs. 83.50, and not the amount of the property taxes for the said full year amounting to Rs. 167, although the said bill itself showed the amount of the property taxes for the full year; and further that the said bill itself, read with the Directions printed therein, showed that even the amount of tax claimed by that bill was that payable only for the first half -yearly instalment and that therefore the deposit, which in this case was by way of a payment under protest, was sufficient compliance with the requirements of Clause (e) of Section 406(2). It is against this judgment and order of the District Judge, Sholapur, that this revision application has been filed.