GONE NAGALAXMI Vs. EXECUTIVE OFFICER GAM PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The husband of the petitioner Venkat Reddy and Respondents 3 to 5 herein jointly purchased the house property bearing House No.1-71 of Station Ghanpur Village in the year 1974. All the four names were shown in the Panchayat Property Tax Assessment Register. It is the case of the petitioner that some time later Respondents 3 to 5 gave an application to Gram Panchayat requesting to mutate the name of Venkat Reddy alone as owner of the property. Accordingly from the Financial Year 1989-1990, the Gram Panchayat modified the records and has been collecting property ttax from the husband of the petitioner. After the death of her husband, the petitioner appears to have made an application in the year 1977 to mutate the property in her name. Be that as it is, the third respondent also appears to have filed an application before the second respondent for revising the entries in the Property Tax Register. By impugned order dated 26.4.1999, the second respondent ordered that the name of late G. Venkat Reddy be removed from the revision register duly entering the name of the third respondent.

(2.) The learned Counsel for the petitioner raised two contentions. According to him, under the relevant rules, it is the Executive Officer, who is competent to revise the Property Tax Register and therefore. District Panchayat Officer has no power or competence to do so. Secondly, he would urge that the impugned order came to be passed without any notice to the petitioner and therefore it is unsustainable.

(3.) In exercise of powers conferred under Sections 268(1) and 268(2) (xxvii) of A.P.Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (for short, the Act), the Government of Andhra Pradesh promulgated the rules relating to taxes, lodging of moneys received by the Gram Panchayat and payment of moneys from Gram Panchayat Fund (the Rules, for brevity). Part B thereof contains provisions dealing with assessment register. Rule 9 of the said Rules, which is relevant, reads as under: