KALLARA PANCHAYAT Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner Panchayat assessed the 3rd respondent to building tax under the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960, in an appeal taken from the order of the Executive Officer of the Panchayat. That order of the Panchayat is Ext. P9 which merely stated that the Panchayat did not find any reason to interfere with the decision of the Executive Officer. The 3rd respondent appealed to the Deputy Director of Panchayats and the Deputy Director of Panchayats by Ext. P10 order after narrating the history of the proceedings also declined to interfere without stating any reasons for upholding the assessment made by the Panchayat. The 3rd respondent took up the matter in revision before the Government under S.144(3) of the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960 and the Government by Ext. P11 order set aside Exts. P9 and P10 orders and directed the Panchayat to assess the buildings in question on the basis of the 'fair rent' fixed by the Junior Engineer whose certificate was produced for the first time before the revisional authority. The Panchayat has impugned this order Ext P11 on three grounds; (1) that the order has been passed in excess of the powers of the Government under sub-s.(3) of S.144 of the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960 and (2) that the Government erred in admitting additional evidence in revision which was not produced by the 3rd respondent at any earlier stage, and (3) that the basis of the order of the State Government is wrong because the second proviso to R.4 of the Kerala Panchayats (Building Tax) Rules, 1963 has been applied by the Government to the buildings in question which do not belong to a class that are not ordinarily let.

(2.) The concerned buildings are three in number. They bear numbers K. P. 246/3 which is used for the residence of the third respondent, K. P.430/3 & 430A used by the 3rd respondent as his dispensary (the 3rd respondent appears to be an Ayurvedic Physician and the third, bearing K.P.431/3 consisting of 11 rooms rented out to different persons. The assessment was for the period of five years, 1963 64 to 1967 68. The provision under which such an assessment could be made is S.68 of the Kerala Panchayats Act, 1960 which is in these terms:-

(3.) The Panchayat has passed a resolution fixing 10 per cent of the net annual rental value as tax, and rules have been framed indicating the method for ascertaining the net annual rental value of buildings. The relevant rule is R.4 which along with the first proviso thereto are in these terms: