H TEJ RAJ CHORDIA Vs. COLLECTOR OF SRIKAKULAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution filed by one H. Tej Raj Chordia. The first, second and third respondents are respectively the Collector of Srikakulam, the Special Deputy Tahsildar (Income-tax), Visakhapatnam, and the Revenue Divisional Officer, Parvathipuram; respondents 4 to 7 are the successors-in-interest of the late Kandula Guraviah. In this petition, the petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or direction calling for the records relating to the sale by public auction of a mill at Salur known as "Sri Kanyakaparameswari Rice and Oil Mill" and to quash the order of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Parvathipuram, the third respondent herein, dated 16th December, 1962 in D.Dis. No. 4253 of 1961, whereby the auction sale of the rice mill in question which had been held on 16th March, ,1959 under the provisions of the Madras Revenue Recovery Act, 1864 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act "), at which the petitioner was the highest bidder, was set aside. The petitioner also seeks a direction for the issue of a sale certificate in his favour. The impugned order passed by the third respondent reads as follows :-

(2.) The facts giving rise to this writ petition are as follows : One late Kandula Guraviah of Salur was in arrears of income-tax to the tune of Rs. 54,905-87 nP. He was the Kartha of the Hindu joint family of which respondents 4 to 7 are members. Recovery proceedings were initiated by the first respondent on certificates issued by the concerned Income-tax Officer under section 46(2) of the Income-tax Act. The Special Deputy Tahsildar, Visakhapatnam, the 2nd respondent, was in charge of the collection of the Income-tax arrears in the district. He attached the mill in question belonging to the assessee-defaulter and on 16th March, 1959 conducted a sale of the mill by public auction. Six persons attended the sale but only two among them took part in the bidding and they were the petitioner and one Janaki Das Bihani, who claimed to be a lessee of the mill. The highest bid was that of the petitioner for Rs. 9,700 and the bid was knocked down in the petitioner's favour. The petitioner remitted the entire purchase money by 13th April, 1959. On 16th May, 1959, however, the Special Deputy Tahsildar, who had conducted the sale, sent P report to the Revenue Divisional Officer apprising the latter that the amount etched at the auction was too low as, according to him, the mill would be easily worth Rs. 35,666 and he further alleged that there was collusion between the bidders to secure the mill for a low price to serve their own private ends. The following was the report submitted by the Special Deputy Tahsildar to the Revenue Divisional Officer :

(3.) Before any action was taken on this report, Kandula Sanyasi Raju, the 5th respondent herein, one of the members of the joint family of the defaulter, filed a writ petition (Writ Petition No. 778 of 1959) objecting to the sale on the ground that the amount of arrears of Income-tax was only Rs. 20,000 and not Rs. 55,00 as contended by the Income-tax authorities, and further alleging that no notice under section 25 of the Act had been issued. The writ petition was admitted by this Court and further proceedings in pursuance of the sale held on 16th March, 1959 were stayed. In that writ petition, (he petitioner herein was made a party besides the Collector, the Special Deputy Tahsildar and the Income-tax Officer, Vizianagaram. The writ petition was finally disposed of by this Court on loth January, 1961 and the contentions of the petitioner therein were rejected and that writ petition was dismissed.