V PADMANABHA RAVIVARMA RAJAH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these eleven writ petitions, the common question that arises for consideration is as to whether the levy of land cess under the provisions of the Madras District Boards Act, 1920, Madras Act XIV of 1920, as amended by the Madras District Boards (Amendment) Act, 1957, Kerala Act IV of 1958, is valid and could be sustained.

(2.) There are also, no doubt, some special points raised in some of these writ petitions; and I will advert to them, after I consider the main grounds of attack that have been made regarding the validity of Kerala Act IV of 1958. According to the petitioners, the levy of land cess at a uniform rate, irrespective of the quality of the lands, is illegal, discriminatory and void and therefore Kerala Act IV of 1958 is an invalid piece of legislation. On the other hand, the learned Advocate General, appearing for the State, has sustained the levy under the Act in question as a levy which is within the competence of the State Legislature and that the Act is a valid piece of legislation.

(3.) In order to appreciate the contentions of learned counsel appearing in the various petitions, as well as of the learned Advocate General, who has appeared on behalf of the State, it is desirable to set out the circumstances under which these writ petitions have been filed. It is not necessary to go into the various other matters of detail mentioned in the individual petitions. I will refer only to the allegations in OP. No. 948 of 1959 which may be considered to more or less represent the grounds of attack formulated as against the levy of land cess in these writ petitions; and substantially the allegations in all the other writ petitions are also to the same effect. Similarly. I will refer only to the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the State in O. P. No. 948 of 1959 because that also represents broadly the stand taken by the State Government to sustain the levy in question.