RAGHAVENDRA KRIPAL Vs. MUNICIPAL BOARD HAPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Municipal Board of Hapur decided to impose water-tax, and after its proposals and rules had been finalised they were sanctioned by the Commissioner (who is the prescribed authority for the purpose) and a Notification was published in the U. P. Gazette dated 11-12-1956 imposing the tax in question from 1-4-1957. The petitioners, who are fifteen house owners of Hapur, received notices from the Board for payment of the water-tax assessed in respect of their houses. They have come up to this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution and pray for the issue of a writ or order preventing the Board from realising the tax, and their principal contention is that the tax is illegal inasmuch as it has been imposed in contravention of various provisions of the Municipalities Act 1916 (hereinafter referred to as the Act).

(2.) When a Board desires to impose a tax it is lequired to follow a procedure which is found laid down in Sections 131 to 135 of the Act. It is a somewhat complicated procedure, but it has been lucidly outlined in the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Kedar Nath v. Municipal Board, Gorakhpur, 1956 ALJ 198. Hence it is not necessary for me to reproduce it here. It is incontestable that no tax can be said to be validly imposed unless this procedure has been followed. Consequently the question to which I have to address myself for deciding this petition is whether or not the Board has imposed the water-tax by adopting the procedure laid down by the Act.

(3.) Before I turn to consider the arguments advanced on behalf of the contending parties I should like to lay emphasis on one point. Taxation tc be valid must be levied, assessed and realised in strict conformity with the statute which authorises it. Also, in the present instance a reading of Sections 131 to 134 makes it abundantly clear that the legislature want that wide publicity should be given to the proposals and the rules framed by a Board for levying, assessing and realising a Municipal tax so that all persons who may be affected by the tax may have an opportunity of raising objections if they wish to. It follows that the Board must strictly comply with the provisions of Sections 131 to 135. This consideration will have to be borne in mind in assessing the value of the contentions of the rival parties.