GOVERNMEN OF TAMIL NADU Vs. AHOBILA MATAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is by a certificate granted by the Madras High Court under Art. 133(l)(c) of the Constitution. The appellant is the State of Tamil Nadu. The respondent is the Ahobila Matam, a well known religious institution. The question relates to the applicability of the Tamil Nadu Inams (Assessment) Act, 1956 in regard to some lands situated in Narasimhapuram, Papanasam taluk, Thanjavur District belonging to the institution. The lands are covered by Inam Title Deed No. 2214 dated July 29, 1881 granted by the Inam Commissioner to the Manager for the time being of Sri Ahobila Matam. By the title deed, the Inam Commissioner, by order of the Governor-in-council of Madras acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for India in Council, acknowledged the title of the Ahobila Matam to "a religious endowment or a Matam Inam consisting of the right to the Government Revenue on land claimed to be acres 28.11 cents of dry, 58.38 acres of wet and 6.83 acres of garden and situated in the whole village of Narasimhapuram besides Poramboke in the taluk of Kumbakonam District of Tanjore and held for the support of the Ahobila Matam" and confirmed the Inam to the Manager for the time being of the Ahobila Matam and his successor "tax-free to be held without interference so long as the conditions are duly fulfilled." The extract of the Inam Fair Registrar mentioned in Column 8 that the grant was made by one of the Tanjore Princes, but that the purpose of the grant was not known. It was presume that the inam was conferred for the benefit of the Matam. Column 13 mentioned the original grantee as the Ahobilam Servatantra Sri Srinivasa Swami, apparently, the then Jeer of the Matam. The recommendation of the Inam Commissioner in Column 22 was that the title deed should be issued in the name of the priest for the time being of the Ahobila Matam. It was in pursuance of this recommendation that Inam Title Deed No. 2214 was issued. Consequent on the enactment of the Madras Inams (Assessment) Act, 1956, the Revenue Divisional Officer, Kumbakonam made an order on February 28, 1963 levying full assessment on the lands. The levy of the assessment was questioned by the Ahobila Matam by a Writ Petition in the Madras High Court. First, a learned single Judge and then, a Division Bench of Madras High Court quashed the assessment on the ground that the proviso to S. 3(l) of the Act prevented the levy of full assessment of lands held on service tenure. The proviso to S. 3(l) of the Act is in the following terms:-

(2.) Shri Ram Kumar, learned counsel for the respondent argued that the imposition of full assessment on lands held by the religious institution in the present case would be hit by Art. 26 of the Constitution which gives to every religious denomination the right to own and acquire movable and immovable property and to administer such property in accordance with law. We are unable to understand how the mere imposition of assessment on lands held by a religious denominational institution can possibly attract the right guaranted by the Art. 26 of the Constitution. The burden imposed is a burden to be shared in the same manner by all the owners of the lands in the State and not a special burden imposed on the denominational institution. Burden of that nature is outside the right guaranteed by Art. 26 of the Constitution. The appeal is, therefore, allowed and the orders of the learned single Judge and the Division Bench of the Madras High Court are set aside. The writ petition filed in the High Court is dismissed.