KRISHORE GUPTA Vs. MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, INDORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) .This petition and Misc. Petitions Nos. 83, 89 and 100 of 1973, have been filed by the respective petitioners challenging two orders in this petition, one bearing No,1208 date 9 -1 -1973 issued by the Administrator Indore Municipal Corporation, and the second dated 19 -4 -1973 issued by the Mal Padadhikari of the Indore Municipal Corporation

(2.) , According to the petitioners, they have been permitted by the Municipal Corporation under bye laws regulating Public Advertisements etc., framed by the State Government dated 19th December 1944 under the Indore Municipal Act to put up their own hoardings for putting up advertisement boards and they were permitted to do it on payment of charges as prescribed under those bye -laws framed under the Indore Municipal Act. By the impugned order dated 9 -1 -1973 the Administrator of the Municipal Corporation directed that henceforth these boards will be given on auction and the order of the Mal Padadhikari dated 19 -4 -1973 prescribed that the auction will be by tenders (quotations) to be submitted in writing by persons intending to put the advertisements on their own hoardings at the places permitted by the Corporation.

(3.) IT was also contended that any tax on advertisements could only be levied by the Corporation in accordance with section 132 of the Madhya Pradesh Act and after following the procedure prescribed under that section and the following sections. That has not been done and therefore the Administrator could not by an administrative order prescribe conditions contrary to the bye -laws for allotting the boardings for advertisements. It was also contended in one of the petitions that the Corporation is not in existence and an Administrator is continuing and in the scheme of the Act the Administrator could not continued infinitum and thus the Administrator has no jurisdiction to function on behalf of the Corporation.