N MANI Vs. COMMISSIONER VILLUPURAM MUNICIPALITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these writ petitions, petitioner challenges the show cause notices dated 25. 10. 2000 and 25. 9. 2000 respectively.

(2.) PETITIONER was appointed as Bill Collector in the year 1963 in the respondent Municipality and was promoted as Junior Assistant in the year 1971, then as Assistant in 1984 and further promoted as Revenue Inspector on 13. 4. 1989. He retired on 31. 10. 2000. The impugned show cause notices have been issued calling for from the petitioner to show cause as to why the loss suffered by the Municipality on account of the failure to discharge his official duty to collect the arrears towards property tax and lease amount should not be recovered from him. The said show cause notices are challenged on the ground of jurisdictional issue relying upon the earlier orders of the state Administrative Tribunal in O. A. No. 3503 of 1996 dated 28. 11. 1996 and o. A. No. 47 61 of 1992 dated 19. 12. 1997. In the said orders the Tribunal considered a similar issue and held that the Revenue Officers in the Local bodies cannot be made liable for the time barred arrears of tax dues and no recovery has to be made from them. The Tribunal had come to such a conclusion by placing reliance on paragraph 3 of G. O. Ms. No. 1881 R. D. and L. A. Department, dated 14. 9. 1981, wherein it is stated that the responsibility to take proceedings to recover the tax before they become time barred, vests with the commissioner and the Revenue Officers are not responsible for the tax arrears having become time barred and that the only duty of the Revenue Officers is to report about the tax arrears. The said order was passed by the Tribunal relying the decision of this Court reported in 1988 Writ Law Reporter 38 (V. Nagarajan v. Commissioner, Salem Municipality, Salem), wherein this Court considered a similar issue and following an earlier decision in W. P. Nos. 3364 to 3369 of 1976 dated 23. 11. 1976 held as under,

(3.) THE above said position is also made clear from the communication of the Director of Municipal Administration, Chepauk, Chennai-5, addressed to All Regional Directors of Municipal Administration, in roc. No. 75380/96/r1 dated 3. 12. 1996, which reads as under, <FRM>JUDGEMENT_162_TLMAD0_2006Html1.htm</FRM>