A GANGA RAJU Vs. MUNICIPAL COUNCIL PALACOLE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff, whose suit and appeal have been dismissed by both the Courts, has come up with this Second Appeal.

(2.) The plaintiff is a choultry at Palakol represented by its Executive Officer. According to the allegations the plaint, there are dining hall, kitchen, central hall and other rooms used for lodging purposes in the choultry. No rent is charged from any lodger for the occupation of the rooms. Only electricity consumption charges are collected from them. Free boarding is arranged for travellers and poor students. The choultry regularly provides free boarding for the poor students. The plaint schedule mentions four rooms. They are abutting the road and are situate in the choultry. They have been leased out by the plaintiff to Gandhi Medical Hall, Venkateswara Ayurveda Nilayam, Mahalaxmi Cut Pieces and Prabhat Sudha Khadder Vastralayam, which have separate assessment numbers respectively as 4879, 4876, 4875 and 4874. The rents realised from the tenants in these shops are exclusively utilised for the above charitable purposes. The respondent-municipality issued a notice on 5-3-1969 demanding property tax for the suit schedule four rooms also. According to the plaintiff, they are exempt from levy of any property tax under Section 88 of the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965, (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The Municipality has also assessed surcharge under Act XIII of 1958 for the said shops. The levy of house tax and the demand of surcharge are illegal. Hence the suit has been filed for a declaration that the levy and demand of house tax and surcharge for the plaint schedule buildings (the four rooms mentioned in the schedule), is illegal and void and for consequently injunction restraining the respondent from collecting the same and for costs.

(3.) The defendant-municipality resisted the suit. According to it, the plaint schedule properties do not constitute a choultry or a part of a choultry to claim exemption under Section 88 of the Act. They have been let out for the purposes unconnected with the object of the choultry and hence the assessment in dispute are not at all illegal.