PIONEER MOTORS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. MUNICIPAL COUNCIL NAGERCOIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These four appeals are brought against the judgments and decrees of the erstwhile High Court of Travancore-Cochin. The appellants were the plaintiffs in the respective suits out of which these appeals have arisen and the respondent was the defendant in all the suits. As all the suits involve a common question of law, it will be convenient to dispose of them by one judgment.

(2.) The facts of the cases are these. On September 9, 1943, the Nagercoil Municipal Council the respondent, passed a resolution under S. 78 of the Travancore District Municipalities Act (Act XXIII of the Malyalam year 1116) hereinafter called the Act. By this resolution, it was resolved to levy a profession tax at the rates specified in the schedule. This was notified in the Government Gazette of September 26, 1943, under the name of the Commissioner of the respondent Council. In this notification, it was stated:

(3.) Three private limited companies carrying on business brought three suits challenging the legality of the imposition of the tax out of which the other three appeals, i.e., Civil Appeals Nos. 499 to 501, have arisen. In these suits, it was alleged that the publication of the resolution was not in accordance with the provisions of S. 78 of the Act in so far as (1) it was not published by the respondent Municipal Council, but by the Commissioner; (2) the newspaper in which the advertisement was published was not selected by the Council; (3) time given in the notification was fixed not by the Council, but by the Commissioner; and (4) the period prescribed in the notification, that is, "within 30 days", was not fixed by the Council and was not in accordance with the Act. The respondent Municipal Council denied these allegations and several issues were raised and the suits were decreed. The appeal which had been taken in the suit by the Trust was also decided in favour of that plaintiff. The result was that all the suits and the appeal were decided against the respondent Municipal Council. It took four appeals to the High Court. The decrees were reversed and the suits of the various plaintiffs were dismissed. Against those judgments and decrees these four appeals have been brought by the plaintiffs, in the various suits, who are now the appellants.