ROMESH KUMAR Vs. MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE GURDASPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Whether Sections 84 and 86 of the Punjab Municipal Act would bar the jurisdiction of the civil courts in mattes of assessment and computation of house tax under Section 61(1)(a) of the said Act is the significant question which has necessitated this reference to the division Bench.

(2.) We take the view that the controversy now stands concluded by the recent decision of the final Court in Munshi Ram v. Municipal Committee, Chheharta, AIR 1979 SC 1250 and it is, therefore, unnecessary to elaborate the matter on principle in any great detail.

(3.) The facts giving rise to the question call for a brief notice. The appellant along with Bal Krishan preferred a suit for a permanent injunction restraining the respondent-Municipality from recovering the amount of Rs.300/- on account of house tax in respect of property No. 659 for the assessment year 1978-79 with the added relief of the recovery of Rs.270/- alleged to have been illegally recovered by the respondent in respect of the above said property in the previous assessment year. It was averred that the appellants had remained in possession of the property for the last about forty years and it was for the first time in the assessment year 1976-77 that it was sought to assess the house tax at the annual letting value of Rs.2400/-. On objections being preferred by them the annual letting value was reduced to Rs.2,000/-. They preferred an appeal under Section 84 of the Punjab Municipal Act against the said assessment, but the same was dismissed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur. Consequently, the appellants deposited a sum of Rs. 270/- as house tax. Later the respondent-Municipal committee issued a notice for the year 1977-78, demanding Rs. 300/- as house tax on the basis of the earlier assessment. The suit was resisted by the respondent-Municipal Committee inter alia on the ground that the civil Courts had no jurisdiction to try the same in view of the bar created by Sections 84 and 86 of the Punjab Municipal Act. On the pleadings of the parties the following issues were framed:-