SATYANARAYAN SAHA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a writ petition made by 22 persons claiming to be President, Vice-President, office Bearers and members of the krishnanagore Municipality Hate Prayers Association. Some of the petitioners are rate payers; some are not. The petitioner No. 1, Satyanarayan Saha, has died ana it has been contended on behalf of the Respondents that so far as the petitioner No. 1 is concerned, this writ petition has abated.-

(2.) ALTHOUGH there is a prayer for an order is terms of Order 1 Rule 8, no such order was made and the petition cannot be taken to be a representative action on behalf of the rate payers of the Krishnanagore Municipality.

(3.) IT has been stated in the petition that the last valuation and assessment of the holding's of the Krishnanagore Municipality (hereinafter described as the municipality) was made in the year 1972-73. That assessment was challenged by 41 rate prayers of the Krishnanagore municipality by a writ petition in this court. By a judgment and order dated march 3, 1978 Anil Kumar Sen and B. C. Chakraborty JJ. quashed the entire assessment as bad in law. No attempt was made by the municipality to revalue or reassess the valuation or the assessment which had been set aside by this Court. It has been stated by the Advocate, appearing on behalf of the municipality, that the present assessment in for the year 1981-82 and there is no question of any retrospective effect being given to the assessment. There is also no question of any reassessment or revaluation being done under section. 138 (1) (CC)of the Bengal Municipal Act (hereinafter described as the said Act ). A number of grounds have been taken in the petition on the assumption that this was really a reassessment under section 138 (1) (CC) and the order of assessment was being given retrospective affect. In view of the statement made by the Advocate, appearing on behalf of the Municipality those questions have become irrelevant.