AJOY KUMAR MUKHERJEE Vs. LOCAL BOARD OF BARPETA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal on a certificate granted by the Assam High Court raises the question of the constitutionality of an annual tax levied by local boards for the use of any land for the purpose of holding markets as provided by S. 62 of the Assam Local Self-Government Act, No. XXV of 1953, (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The appellant is a landholder in the district of Kamrup. As such landholder, he holds a hat or market on his land since the year 1936 and this market is known as Kharma hat.In 1953-54, the local board of Barpeta, within whose jurisdiction the Kharma market is held, issued notice to the appellant to take out a licence and pay Rs. 600 for the year 1953-54 as licence-fee for holding the market. Later this sum was increased to Rs. 700 for the year 1955-56. The appellant continued protesting against this levy but no heed was paid to his protests and the amount was sought to be recovered by issue of distress warrants and attachment of his property. Consequently, the appellant filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of the impost on a number of grounds. In the present appeal two main contentions have been urged in support of the appellant's case that the impost is unconstitutional, namely, (i)that the Assam legislature had no legislative competence to tax market, and (ii) that the tax actually imposed on the Kharma market infringes Art. 14 of the Constitution. We shall, therefore, consider these two contentions only.

(2.) This attack on behalf of the appellant is met by the respondent by relying on item 49 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, and it is urged that the State legislature was competent to impose the tax under that entry, for this was a tax on land. As to Art. 14, the reply on behalf of the respondent is that under S. 62 of the Act, a rule has been framed prescribing Rs. 1,000 as the maximum amount of tax which may be levied by any local board in Assam on markets licensed under that Section. The rule also provides that any local board may with the previous approval of Government impose a tax within this maximum according to the side and importance of a market. So it is submitted that the tax has been imposed by Barpeta local board in accordance with this rule, and the appellant has failed to show that there has been any discrimination in the fixation of the amount of tax on the Kharma market.

(3.) The High Court repelled the contentions raised on behalf of the appellant and dismissed the writ petition. As, however questions of constitutional importance were involved, the High Court granted a certificate under Art. 132 of the Constitution; and that it how the matter has come up before us.