COCHIN DEVASWOM BOARD Vs. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Cochin Devaswom Board, a body constituted under the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950, hereinafter referred to as "the Board" is the petitioner.

(2.) ACCEPTING the Board's application exhibit P-2, the Central Government issued exhibit P-3 notification which reads :

(3.) EXHIBIT P-3 notification admittedly is one issued under the above sub-clause. It can be seen from exhibit P-3 that the Central Government, has notified the petitioner-Board as an institution entitled to tax exemption for and from the assessment year 1972-73. This notification thus enables the petitioner-Board to claim tax exemption for all time. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, however, by exhibit P-4, limited the validity of the notification, exhibit P-3, to the assessment year 1984-85. Not only that, the Central Board of Direct Taxes further declared, as is seen from exhibit P-14, that the petitioner-Board is not entitled to get the tax exemption at all. Counsel for the petitioner argues that the Central Board of Direct Taxes has no power to vary the notification, exhibit P-3, issued by the Central Government or to issue, exhibit P-14, notification under the above sub-clause.