AUTO ANCIL Vs. JAMNADAS VISHNUBHAI PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner-Tenant has preferred this application against the order of the learned Extra Assistant Judge, Baroda, allowing the Civil Revision Application No. 38 of 1983 filed by the landlord and directing the petitioner- Tenant to pay or deposit in the Court all municipal taxes, education cess, land revenue amounting to Rs. 66,295.56 and continue to deposit municipal taxes as per the municipal bills as agreed upon by them by virtue of the agreement clauses 4 and 5 in addition to the monthly rent of Rs. 1200.00 and to that extent, the order below Ex. 19 was modified and the petitioner-Tenant was given one month's time to deposit the amount of arrears of taxes. That order was passed on 8/03/1985.

(2.) The learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that an order under Sec. 11(4) was already passed fixing the interim standard rent of Rs. 1200.00per month and thereafter another application under Sec. 11(4) in respect of municipal taxes was not maintainable. It is also submitted that while fixing the interim standard rent, the Court had no jurisdiction to include the payment of taxes because taxes are not rent and, therefore, the order of the learned Assistant Judge is without jurisdiction and he has, therefore, erred in reversing the order of the trial Court. The trial Court had rejected the application of the landlord on the ground that municipal taxes were not the subject-matter of suit and that even in the application Ex. 19, the plaintiff-landlord had not prayed for depositing the amount of taxes in the Court.

(3.) The lower appellate Court has rightly pointed out that the tenant had been paying the municipal taxes directly to the authorities and, therefore, the plaintiff was not required to make that claim in the plaint or in the application for fixing the interim standard rent. However, after the trial Court fixed the interim standard rent at Rs. 1200.00 per month, the defendant-Tenant stopped paying any taxes to the municipal corporation and other authorities and huge amount of taxes was in arrears and the property of the landlord was attached and put to auction and, therefore, the landlord was required to pay huge amount of taxes amounting to Rs. 66.000.00 and odd. Therefore, on 14/03/1983, the landlord made an application for modification of the earlier order fixing the interim standard rent at Rs. 1200.00 per month and for directing the tenant to deposit the arrears of taxes also failing which the defence would be struck off.