ARUN KUMAR JAISWAL Vs. CANTONMENT BOARD, DEHRADUN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the above writ petitions have been filed by the petitioners seeking a writ of mandamus/prohibition commanding/ prohibiting the respondents not to impose and collect the octroi -toll within the cantonment area of Dehradun and Chakrata (Dehradun) by their own staff or through contractor.

(2.) THE petitioners are residents of Dehradun. According to them, respondent no. 1 is illegally collecting Octroi/toll from the vehicles coming within the cantonment area of Dehradun by exercising powers under section 60 of the Cantonment Act, 1924 read with provisions of Indian Tolls (Army and Air Force) Act, 1901, according to which, the Cantonment Board may impose tax/octroi/toll if two conditions are fulfilled, namely, (i) there must be previous sanction of Central Government and (ii) tax to be imposed must be such which under any enactment for the time being in force may be imposed in any Municipality in the State within Cantonment is situated.

(3.) CANTONMENT Board, Dehradun is situated in District Dehradun within the State of Uttaranchal. State of Uttaranchal was created on 9 -11 -2000, under the provisions of the U.P. Reorganisation Act, 2000. Prior to that date, Dehradun was part of State of Uttar Pradesh. It is pleaded by the petitioner that prior to 1991 (wrongly described in the petition as 1994), all the Municipalities/ Municipal Corporations/Municipal Boards, within the State of U.P. used to collect octroi/toll tax by exercising the powers under section 128 of the U.P. Municipalities Act, 1916. However, the State of U.P. vide U.P. Urban Self Government Laws (Amendment) Act, 1991 (wrongly described in the petition as 1994), abolished octroi/toll, etc. Thereafter, no octroi is being imposed and recovered by any of the Municipality. As such, no Municipality, Municipal Board, Municipal Council within the State of Uttaranchal is recovering any octroi -toll. Nor till day, State of Uttaranchal has authorized any Municipality to levy and recover the octroi/toll.