C PAPPANNA Vs. STATE OF COORG AND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The principal question Involved in these two writ petitions is the constitutional validity of an Act passed by the Legislative Council of the Chief Commissioner of Coorg, intituled the Coorg Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1951 (Coorg Act No. 1 of 1951). This is how the question arises.

(2.) On 15-1-1951, the Legislative Council of the Chief Commissioner of Coorg which was then a part 'C' State in the Union of India, passed an Act called the Coorg Agricultural Income-tax Act to which the President of India accorded his assent on 13-5-1951. On the issue of a Notification dated 4-8-1951 under Sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Act, the Act came into force in that State on 10-3-1951. It is stated in the preamble to the Act that the previous sanction of the Governor General had been obtained under section 97 of the Government of India Act 1935 as adapted by the India Provisional Constitution) Order, 1047, to the passing of that Act.

(3.) By an order made by respondent 2, the Agricultural Income-Tax Officer, Coorg, on 13-12-1952, the agricultural income of the petitioner for the previous year ending on March 31, 1951 was assessed to agricultural Income-tax under the provisions of the impugned Act for the assessment year 1951-52. By another order made by him on the same day, he similarly assessed, for the assessment year 1952-53, the petitioner's agricultural income for the previous year ending on March 31, 1952. The tax determined to be payable for the assessment year 51-52 was Rs. 346-4-0 and for the assessment year 52-53 it was Rs. 8,090-2-0. The petitioner unsuccessfully appealed under section 29 of the Act. against those orders of assessment to the Deputy Commissioner, Coorg, and his attempt to get those orders revised by the Commissioner under section 32 of the Act, also failed.